Before!
 |
| L-R: Wazza, Chris, Sean, Me, Lou, Benny, Phil, Sheree photo taken by Joanne |
A team photo, hugs all round and some laughter over Sheree's fall while coming off the warmup wall. Countdown from 10 and we are off, through orange smoke!
Charge onto the Tough Mudder course with a start wave full of pumped-up Mudders. Battle cries are essential! The Braveheart Charge marks the beginning of every Tough Mudder obstacle course.Running through fields and through steep muddy trenches... little did we know how many of these there were going to be! Each of the obstacles had running, river crossings, or muddy trench crossings in between.
1. Kiss of Mud #1
Eat dirt as you crawl commando-style under barbed wire set 8 inches from the ground. This obstacle is true to it’s name – Mudders must belly-crawl through mud in order to avoid getting snagged by the barbed wire above.I lost my race number bib... yep, on the first obstacle.
2. Arctic Enema
First you must bravely jump into Big Mudder’s floating iceberg abyss. Once submerged, find the mental and physical strength to swim through the ice, under a wooden plank and pull yourself out on the other end before you become hypothermic.It was very cold. Hard to explain how cold this was without being quite graphic about parts that don't usually get mentioned in polite company.
3. Berlin Walls #1
This obstacle relies on teamwork. Scale two 12′ wooden walls with the help of your teammates... they got your back, literally.
I'm quite scared of heights so I wasn't looking forward to this obstacle. There was a narrow strip of wood (see above) which you could use as a toe hold but nothing else you could grap onto. The wall was too high to reach the top so I was totally reliant on my team mates to give me a leg up. Once I was on top of the wall I panicked briefly. I asked Lou and Sheree "how do I get down?" it looked too high! They guided me through the technique "turn around, get your leg over the wall and lower yourself gently with your arms (thank you for all those assisted chin-ups Ray and Phil!) In reality I dropped like a sack.
4. King of the Mountain
Finally something I could do... run... hills. Up and down. It was actually quite a reasonable run in the bush. I didn't push hard because I wanted to save energy for later and I was concerned that two of our team were behind me and I didn't want them to get left behind. The rest of the team got a long way ahead as it was actually a fair way to the next obstacle where they were waiting.
5. Twinkle Toes
I saw where this obstacle was as we drove into the site but it was clearly unfinished and the course didn't take us anywhere near it. Instead I think they added in...
5. Bale bonds
Hurl yourself over a stack of hay bales. The hay bales present a unique challenge with an uneven surface and loose hay making it difficult for Mudders to get a good grip while climbing. Once you get to the top, help Mudders behind you by giving them a hand!This was pretty easy but the holes between the bales meant it could get a bit treacherous if you weren't careful.
6. Kiss of Mud #2
So much fun the first time so they made us do it again! Actually this one the wires were a little lower and it seemed longer.
7. Funky Monkey
Some have been greased with our finest mixture of mud and butter and if you slip you’ll fall into an icy pond below. Bars are spaced 1.5 feet apart and you will be on an incline upward for the first half of the Monkey and then descending downward for the second portion.
This was my biggest concern when I registered. I'd never been able to do monkey bars and it took me months before I could do 6. I managed three rungs before my grip slipped and I fell into the icy and muddy water. Phil made it almost to the other side. Everyone was cheering... 1 final rung and he slipped! So close!
8. Trench Warfare
This military-style obstacle requires Mudders to crawl through narrow, dark, muddy trenches. Watch out for rocks, obstructions, and the occasional splash of muddy water from the Mudder crawling ahead. We advise all Mudders to move quickly through this obstacle to reduce the risk of contracting gangrene or trench foot. These trenches will test the stamina and mental grit of all Mudders, especially those who fear dark, confined spaces.
I don't have a fear of dark, confined spaces but even I paused before getting in. Once in there it wasn't as dark as it appeared and wasn't as confined as I feared. I was able to crawl on forearms and knees.
Two of our team had phobic fear of tunnels. One encouraged the other to go in and when he did opted to go aboveground herself :P. When he emerged from the tunnel I gave some support to get his breathing under control. Most of us had one or two obstacles which challenged us at a very deep level. It was very inspiring to see Benny face his fear.
9. Dirty Ballerina
Leap with the grace of a black swan muddily over our 4-foot-wide mud pits. 4 feet may not sound challenging at first, but the tracks of leaping Mudders will erode the mud pits into wide, jagged-edged muddy gaps. Should your inner ballerina stumble, as she often can, you’ll find yourself submerged in a mud pit and calling your teammates for an assist.
This obstacle played to my strengths (long legs and cautious approach) so I found it easy. It was a series of deep (chest high) trenches filled with runny mud. The strategy that worked for me was to edge close to the edge of the trench but not so close that the muddy bank collapsed and you ended up in the trench. Then, I focussed on a firm spot on the opposite side and gently jumped, aiming to land on that spot. It worked a treat whereas others tried to take running jumps and ended up with too much momentum and would slip over and slide into the next trench.
10. Boa Constrictor
These pipes were shorter than the trench warfare tunnels so you could see the other side. It was all downhill into mud and a very slippery uphill pipe out of the mud. I floundered around uselessly like an epileptic eel as I didn't have the upper body strength to pull myself up the pipe. Then I realised I could use my legs as I did have just enough room. Phew!
11. Electric Eel
Slide on your belly through frigid water and beware of the shocks overhead. Should you try to crawl on your knees, you’ll be smacked with live wires and your body will compulsively contort. Be sure to protect your head, otherwise you might experience what Big Mudder calls a brain reboot.
Sean ripped through this like he was being chased by whatever eats eels! Inspired I tried to so the same. I could see live wires sparking in front of me but the shocks weren't as bad as I feared. Certainly they weren't as bad as being shocked by an electric fence and that's happened to me enough times! Sheree got shocked repeatedly and quite hard in this so I think I was pretty lucky.
12. Berlin Walls #2
These walls were higher! By now I knew the technique for getting up with assistance from the awesome guys but getting down the other side of the first wall I dropped too fast and my hands took a beating. I think I also pulled a muscle in my stomach which was to give me grief later when running and again after the event when laughing! Thank goodness for the gloves that Phil had bought us all... just cheap gardening gloves but they helped to grip and protect my hands.
I admit there were tears at that point as I was shaking with fear and pain. The guys stayed on the wall to help a few other women from other teams and that gave me time to collect myself and watch how some of the other women slowed their descent using their elbows hooked over the wall.
I tried this when lowering myself down the second wall and it really helped. So much of this event was about watching others technique or their pitfalls and repeating what worked and not repeating what didn't.
13. Fire Walker
As the name of the obstacle implies, you’ll be running through a trench of blazing, kerosene-soaked straw. You can expect flames at least 4 feet tall. While the flames might seem like the most intimidating aspect of this obstacle, Mudders often forget that with fire comes smoke. Take a deep breath before you enter this obstacle because believe us, you don’t want your lungs full of this thick smoke.
I strongly suspected that in risk-averse, fire-safe Australia this was going to be smoke and mirrors and indeed it was. There was smouldering straw on either side of a wide path and you ran between it. The smoke and ash was acrid but easy to keep out of your lungs by breathing through your t-shirt and keeping your hands in front of your eyes to stop ash from getting in them.
Somewhere around here Wazza's ITB went and he was reduced to walking. I was quite relieved to walk and just enjoy the atmosphere. I started to feel sad that the event would be over soon. I was having so much fun!!
14. Spider’s Web
Crawl like a spider up and over a cargo net suspended between two trees – keep a good grip or you will fall into a tangled web (er, cargo net) below! The net is fastened with tension at the top only, leaving the bottom of the net loose and unsteady. Teamwork has proven to be very helpful for successfully completing this obstacle. Mudders will pull the bottom of the net towards the ground to create tension so their teammates can climb with balance and control.
In actual fact the Mudders who had just completed the net held the net out at an angle meaning you were climbing at an angle adding to the difficulty. I was quite frightened when I got to the top as it was quite high up and wobbling as I tried to get my body over and turned around to climb down the other side. I took my turn holding the net and could see why so many were pulling the net back; it was much easier to use your body weight to pull the net back than your strength to pull the down.
15. Hold Your Wood
Make like a lumberjack and carry a heavy log through a section of the Tough Mudder course. If the course is flat, expect to be lugging your log for at least 1/2 mile. If the area is hilly or mountainous, get friendly with your wood because you’ll be hauling it up a steep and challenging ascent.
The course was flat... but muddy. Phil had chosen a small log for me and it felt very light. It only felt moderately heavier after the walk with it which I took as proof all the training at Primal and with Phil had paid off.
16. Wood Chopped
This obstacle consisted of about half a dozen large log 'hurdles' which were extremely slippery and mud covered by the time we got to them. They were high enough (chest height) that I couldn't jump over them without help from the guys. Lou sussed out a good strategy to get over by herself but I didn't have the strength to do it myself.17. Log Jammin
Jump over and crawl under large logs strewn across the course. This may not sound very difficult, but with fatigued muscles and logs placed at varying heights, the Log Bog Jog has proven to be a challenge for Mudders.
I really enjoyed this as it took some dexterity and thought to get the right strategy. My muscles weren't so fatigued that it was a challenge and my flexibility meant that getting between the logs was easy.
18. Mud Mile
Slosh through up to a mile of waist-deep sludge as you try not to lose your shoes in the mud. Balance and coordination are required if you want to make it through this obstacle without face-planting… but what’s the fun in that? Real Mudders eat mud for breakfast.
Thank goodness it wasn't a mile!!! Worst obstacle ever! There were mounds of mud with trenches of thick, sticky mud just right for sucking off shoes and trapping the unsuspecting. Like me.
Most of the team had taped their shoes on with electrical tape (I was no exception) so the shoes stayed on but one of the trenches I got bogged and it took two of us to dig my right foot out (thanks Sean!) and two guys to free the rest of me (thanks Sean and Wazza!) As Wazza pulled my arm and the mud sucked my foot down, Sean tried to pull my let and gripped my bruised shin ow! Then my hip got pulled out of the socket by opposing forces causing me to scream in pain and fright. Eventually the three of us managed to get me out. I really thought I was going to be trapped there forever!
19. Walk the Plank
Test your fear of heights and cold all in one with our 15+ feet high jump into freezing water. Don’t spend too much time pondering your leap – Marines at the top of the platform will chew you out, or worse, push you into the freezing depths below.
I got to the top and froze. "I can't do this" I said aloud. Then I remembered I'd jumped off the boat in Thailand and that hadn't been much lower and I looked across to see Lou frozen with a lifeguard holding one hand and a young man holding the other. The person next to me said "she'll never do it" and I though "yes she will" and jumped. When I surfaced in what seemed a very long time I saw Lou on top of the wall and added my voice to the crowd chanting "go Lou!" It seems that others had picked up our team cheering her on and added their voices to encourage her. She jumped! I wanted to swim over and help her but feared being jumped on by others so kept calling encouragement to her.
20. Everest
A quarter-pipe that you’ll have to sprint up and enlist the help of other Mudders to hurl you over this beastly summit. Everest is coated in mud and grease, a combination which will likely send you right back from where you came. Call upon other Mudders to catch you as you run up the quarter-pipe or work together to form a human chain so that you can scale someone’s shoulders to finally summit Everest.
I really thought I wouldn't be able to do this. My fear of heights and my fear of being too heavy for my team members almost got the better of me. I decided I'd give it full commitment for three attempts and if I didn't succeed then I'd pass. I tried twice and felt like I got nowhere near the guys who were reaching down to grab my hand. I watched everyone except Sheree get up. Sean who'd stated flatly that he had nothing left and was going to skip this obstacle shocked me by sprinting like a freight train and grabbing the guys. I knew if I could just get to their hands I'd be ok as I'm lighter than Sean.
I took a final run up and sprinted as fast as I could. My fingertips reached Chris (who had the longest arms) and then my other hand was grabbed by someone else (Benny?) I had no strength in my arms to pull myself despite trying and my feet kept slipping on the pipe so I couldn't use my legs either. They hauled me like a sack of potatoes and I stood shaking at the top. Shit! We did it! Shit! I had to get down!
Sheree, boosted by my success took another run at the wall and the guys grabbed her too. Jubilant now as we only had one more obstacle and we'd all made it!
21. Electroshock Therapy
This was it... last obstacle and the one we'd been dreading. I wasn't as the electric eel had proven to be less than shocking. We all hugged and I cried a few tears before walking to the obstacle
Sprint through a field of live wires — some carrying as much as 10,000 volts of electric shock. Some Mudders try to stealthily wind their way through the wires without getting shocked, while others barrel forward to get through as quickly as possible. Either way, you are guaranteed to get zapped with as much as 10,000 volts of electricity and it does NOT tickle. This is typically the last obstacle Mudders must overcome before they cross the finish line.This wasn't fun! I ran through after a couple of people who stopped dead when they got shocked and I got belted a few times. "Move! Don't stop" I yelled but to no avail. It took a while before I realised I could run around them. All I wanted was to get OUT OF THERE! I ran with my arms protecting my face getting shocked every couple of steps.
Finally I emerged! We all hugged and high-fived! We crossed the line together as a team. What an amazing experience. We were muddy, wet, cold and thrilled. To say we were muddy was an understatement. The mud was weighing down my shoes (it was in my shoes making my feet very uncomfortable) it was weighing down my pants. I couldn't see skin on my legs. My red shirt was black/brown. It was up my nose, in my eyes, in my ears and wads of it were inside my bra. My pants were lumpy with bits of mud inside them. I've never seen so much mud, even in NZ in winter or trekking in Bhutan!
We wrapped up in space blankets, I drank a can of soft drink and it tasted like nectar. I don't normally touch soft drink. We got our headbands, a t-shirt, more banana (there were lots on the course) and headed for a patch of sun.
The event was incredibly well organised except the very long queue to get in and get out of Glenworth Valley but that was caused by single lane dirt road and lots of cars so couldn't be helped.
I'm pretty keen to do it again in February! I'd have a month to recover before Tarawera... surely that's enough??
No comments:
Post a Comment