Today was the
Mud Run and it was the HARDEST thing that I have ever physically done. Bar none.
Colin and I got to the Run early so there was a lot of standing around. The run was Originally scheduled to begin at 9:45, but the 10k group didn't get out until 10:30!
The weather was hot and I have been pounding back the water all weekend. So I thought that I was prepared in those regards. Physically I have been pretty immobile the last few weeks, so I didn't have a lot of running experience. But who needs that for a 10k.
The
Claireville Conservation Area is exactly how it sounds. It consists of a dirt road that basically drives into the woods. The beginning of the race was on this dirt road. And it wasn't that difficult. I managed to run the first 1.5k pretty strong and was feeling good. This is going to be easy, I thought to myself.
Then we got into the more "adventurous" part of the race. Basically, it goes right into the woods. There is a 1 foot path and it bottle necked. So the next 1/2k we were all but forced to walk. It opened up again for another 1/2k and then bottle necked at the river crossing. And like all good Canadians, WE LINED UP
LOL! But then the teams that started 15 minutes after us started to catch up and we were forced to move. There was a lot of dirt and it was a difficult trek up the hill.
It opened up again into a field and away we went. I walked a bit but ran until we hit the 4k mark. The worst part about that was that the 4k mark was at the FINISH LINE. So only 4k in and the 5k race is done and people are finished. It was difficult to keep going. For a brief second I really considered turning Right instead of Left.
The next 6k I can only describe in one word. H E L L. It was mentally the hardest thing. It was too hot, and apparently I hadn't had enough water. At 7k I realized I couldn't close my hands and saw that they had swelled to almost triple their size.
The last 2k were insane. I would start to run, then walk then run again. I would suddenly have these huge emotional bursts of
adrenaline and just as soon as they would come, they would go again. At the 9.25k mark we actually SAW our
BFF's Marlene and Mark, and Dave. If it wasn't for then and their encouragement, I think I may have not finished, even so close to the finish line.
We finally made it to the Mud pit and jumped in. We crossed at about 2:36 minutes. And I was fine with that.
Colin ran the ENTIRE race with me and never left my side. Between 7-9k he was the ONLY reason I was moving forward and not stopping. He was encouraging and I knew he could have kicked ass on this race. But he didn't want to leave me behind. That is the measure of a man right there.
Sitting in the river and washing off after the race, I cried. I was so glad that I had finished and I new that up until this exact moment, I had never done anything so difficult.
And the worst part of it all? As soon as I was done, I turned to Colin and said "We are totally doing that again next year!"
