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| Brian, me (Pete), Joel, Sean, Joe, and Chris The Before Picture |
At the starting gate, they give you a little pump-you-up speech, which was pretty cool. Then we were off and running. The uphill I expected, the gravel and rocks along the route I did not. You really have to watch your feet on that kind of terrain.
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| Right out of the gate |
After a 2k run, we came to the first obstacle, jumping in a dumpster of ice water, going underneath a barrier (forcing you underwater) and coming out the other end. I jumped right in and was momentarily disoriented. It is quite shocking. The hard part was the people on the other end aren't moving as fast you would like them to. Get out! I'm freezing in here!
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| Right before the Arctic Bath |
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| Right after the Arctic Bath |
First real physical challenge. I mean, these walls are at an angle - unless you have some serious pull up skills, this one is going to require a teammate. Two sets of walls to get over.
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| Team approach |
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| Up and over |
This one didn't look all that bad from a distance, but it is really the equivalent of jumping from the high dive with all your clothes on. The girl right before me wimped out and climbed back down. I jumped out without thinking too much (thinking was not going to help matters). The biggest surprise was finding it takes longer to come up when you have shoes anchoring you down.
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| Taking the plunge (Jeffrey in foreground) |
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| Chris's wife Mina was a big help with Levi |
They have several piles of wood here, and you pick them up and carry them about a quarter mile. Mine was a good size for sitting on as a stump. The wood came in all sizes, so you could pick how much challenge you wanted. That wood did get heavy.
Obstacle 5: Kiss of Mud
Here one needs to crawl under barbed wires over muddy terrain for about 200 meters. I started off a little too high and snagged my shorts on the wire, so I went lower. It was really tough on my knees, and the guy spraying people with water didn't help either.
Obstacle 6: Berlin Walls
After a lengthy jog, we came to the Berlin Walls - 10 foot walls with nothing much to help you get up. Here, teammates were critical. Two sets of walls to traverse.
There was quite a bottleneck following Berlin Walls for the water and 1/2 banana. I did not realize this would be the most nourishment provided for the 4 1/2 hours I would be on the course.
Obstacle 7: Mud Mile
The most fun of all obstacles was the Mud Mile - just a lot of mud pits to traverse. Some of our team intentionally went under, but you could get by only going chest deep. It smelled terrible.
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| Post-mud mile |
This one looked easier than it was. There were several wood logs set up like fences as barriers. They were waist-to-chest level high, so if you didn't get enough momentum on the jump you would just fall back. Here a teammate was handy, though not essential. I was beginning to tire at this point, so it was a little tricky, but not too bad.
Obstacle 9: Trench Warfare
I was most dreading Trench Warfare, as the YouTube video made it look like it was a quarter mile underground on your belly. Well, in reality, it was about 100 meters underground on your hands and knees. It was a bit gross, but pretty easy.
After #9, There was a bottleneck through a narrow passage of land next to a kilometer posting "KM 12", and I joined a group of three Mexicans and explained to them that "nos falta siete!" (still 7 to go). As we were running away, they called out to me "Joven!" ("Young man!") This surprised me, because I figured I was actually older than they were, but they did get my attention and asked me to take their picture as they were excited to find someone who spoke Spanish. Tough Mudder does promote camaraderie rather than competitiveness, which makes for a more pleasant run. Given the number of bottlenecks, things could get testy if people were really worried about times (no official times were kept).
Obstacle 10: Prairie Dog
Up a metal pipe, using a rope to help you up. I was small enough that I could get on my knees (further punishing them!) but some guys were too big and had to go up on their bellies. Then another pipe you could basically slide down. Then up a mud wall that wasn't too muddy.
Obstacle 11: Ladder to Hell
Another bottleneck obstacle, as the ladder is only big enough to hold about six at a time, and some people are slow climbers and/or have fears of heights. No problem going up and over.
We run about 1-2 km in between each obstacle and the elevation is constantly changing. Lots of up- and downhills.
Obstacle 12: Warrior Carry
Here, a teammate is an essential part of the challenge. One teammate carries another for 100m or so, then the other carries him. Several girls were there looking for people to carry them (at least I'm pretty sure they were not offering to carry others). My teammate Brian (weight: 190) carried me first, then he jumped on me (weight: 175). He doubted my ability to carry him the full distance, but I did get some downhill, and lower body strength is my forte. We made it easily.
Obstacle 13: Devil's Beard
This is a giant mesh net set up so that you have to keep your hands over your head for the 200 m or so that you are underneath. Wasn't bad.
After this obstacle we head back to the spectator's area, where they have been waiting for quite some time to see us again.
Obstacle 14: Balls to the Wall
My nemesis. It looks easy - a tall 20 ft wooden wall with a rope with knots to help you climb up. Most people got up without incident, though I did notice a couple of falls while waiting for all of our teammates to show up. I grabbed a spare rope and tried it without my teammates, and got about half way and realized the knots are far enough apart that you need to pull yourself up to get to the next one. Otherwise your hands will just slip back the moment you reach up. I jumped down after realizing this was going to be trickier than advertised. After helping one of my teammates up and over, I make a second attempt. On this try, I made it about 3/4 of the way, but then couldn't straighten up and grab the wall (my feet were on the wall but I was almost horizontal). I fell this time and hit my head on the knotted rope. At this point too I have been on the course for about three hours and am pretty tired. Sheralie was worried. I am off to the side of the climb when my teammates notice I haven't yet made it, so they come back around to help me over. This time, with their encouragement and help, I am able to make it over. Whew.
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| Notice that I am far too horizontal. This is probably attempt #2 |
Over and under sets of logs. Very easy after the trying wall climb.
Obstacle 16: Cliffhanger
This obstacle was really brutal. Here we climbed from the bottom of the Olympic ski jump to the top - sans gondola. At this point we are already parched and tired, but climbing up that incline was really taxing. We were barely shuffling by the top.
Obstacle 17: Funky Monkey
At this point I am feeling drained, and I seriously doubt whether I can do the monkey bars for the 50 feet required to get over a four foot pool of water. But when I start, my monkey bar instincts kick in, and I am able to muscle through - with teammate encouragement of course. Plenty of people fell in - our team had two casualties. But I kind of envied them getting wet.
Obstacle 18: Everest
I knew this would be a problem. It didn't help that it was located at the end of the race. It was a half pipe like they use in skateboarding competitions - one needed to run up as far as possible then grab onto the side and pull oneself up. Our more athletic team members could do it solo. I knew I would need a helping hand, but fortunately made it on the first try. Here weight was a major disadvantage, as grabbing onto someone at the end meant they would have to fully support your weight (there was no place for your foot to find purchase). We finally got everyone up.
Obstacle 19: Electroshock Therapy
Finally, after passing the KM 19 sign, we get to the last obstacle, danging cords with electricity coursing through them (at fairly low power). We finally got the go ahead and made our way through. While it could knock you over, I felt about 3-4 strong tweaks - basically like a really strong static electricity shock.
Finally, we were able to hydrate and refuel. Some of our spectators were still waiting for us at the Monkey Bars area, since we had arrived there sooner than expected and had missed them. Fortunately, Sheralie was there at the end with Lucy and James and Levi to take pictures and call the others. They were real troopers waiting all the way to the end and cheering us on.
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| The after shot. The orange headband denotes a finisher. |
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| Happy Support Team - except Levi |
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| with Sheralie |
Lessons for next time:
1. Bring your own in-race fuel/hydration. This was no marathon - they did not have nearly the supplies I have had previously. Also will work with support team for gatorade resupply.
2. Team shirts - most teams had coordinate team shirts or at least colors.
3. Sunscreen - yes, that would have been smart. We are all red as lobsters today.
4. Stay the night - Next time we will stay the night at the race location. Driving three hours and running 4.5 hours - too much for one day.
5. The scenery was amazing - snowy mountains, beautiful forest. If I wasn't so busy making sure I didn't turn an ankle, I could have enjoyed it!
6. More people next time. Great teamwork exercise!
