Sucker for Mud

So after running the Mud Mash last year, I knew I had started something.  I had so much fun, not only did I want to do it again this year, I started looking for any and all muddy races I could find locally.  In the process I found the Muddy Buddy and the Tough Mudder, which I promptly signed up for.

The Mud Mash was just as fun (and just as hard) as I remembered, though it has grown more popular (nearly twice as many people attended this year).

 The Muddy Buddy was last week, and I had a blast.  It was cold, wet and rainy that morning, but everyone at the race was in good spirits.  The race is unique in that it is a duathalon, and you "leap frog" with a partner between obstacles.  (One starts on the bike, then switches at each obstacle stop.)  The hills were slippery and slimy so it was hard to keep your footing when you were running, and the rain had everyone soaked head to toe.  The bike was a lot of fun, though some of those down hill courses were SUPER scary, especially since I was taking them like a screaming banshee, trying to recall everything I learned long ago in my mountain biking course so that I could keep up with my blazing fast teammate, Bruno.  I was so grateful for all the technical biking skills I learned in my Westmont class, I'm pretty sure that's the main reason we came in as the first place co-ed team in our division. (Yay!)

The most entertaining obstacle stop, in my opinion, was an enormous inflatable slide.  You had to climb a cargo net up the backside, nearly straight up, and then toss yourself off the other side.  It was a STEEP slope, and with the added wet rains I flew to the bottom and landed with a squeel and a THUD at the bottom.  I must have been grinning like an utter fool the entire race.  It was over before I knew it... only about 6 miles and when you are swapping between running and biking it was insane how quickly the hour went by.

The Tough Mudder is coming up in February, and that one is designed by British special forces or something totally insane like that.  (One of the obstacles apparently is a field of electric wires that shock you!)  Sounds like fun.

Sometimes I forget how much I love running when I'm in the blindingly fun whirl of paddling season, but I think in the long run (ha, bad pun...) the sport I never want to stop doing is just good old fashioned running.  I love that in the morning if I want to go for a jog all I really need are shoes and a bra.  I can go anywhere for as long as I want and I can rock out to great tunes or just take in the scenery around me.

I have been surfing a bit more as well in the off season, which has been great despite the frigid waters up here.  Almost done with my Paralegal program, too! Winter quarter I think is my last ... that will be nice to finally be through.  But until then, more races await.