I got a whole 5 hours of sleep Friday night. I woke up at 5am Saturday and could not go back to sleep. That was mostly due to the extreme pain in my left foot. Kent and I left the condo about 7:30 to head over to Berkeley Plantation, the race location.
It rained most of the drive over to the plantation. We encountered fellow racers in a slight traffic jam near the race site. They had everyone parking in a field, which was more of a mud pit after the overnight rain. Vehicles were getting stuck everywhere on the way in. We got stuck once but made it out and got parked. Then we headed to the race area, got registered and made our way to the start line. It was a very festive atmosphere. From where we were you could see the people finishing from the previous groups. You could see the smoke from the fire, people climbing the cargo net and the beautiful James River in the background.
They counted down to the start of the race and then fire torches went off at the start. We ran for .5 mile before the first obstacle. The first one was barbed wire with mud. We crawled under the barbed wire, got all muddy. Next we were off to more jogging, but it was getting a bit harder due to the trail becoming muddier.
It was a while before the next obstacle, which was tires with a cargo net a few feet above them. You had to go under the net and walk through the tires. Then we were out and jogging again. I should mention here that the jogging was in really, really squishy mud at this point. Very difficult to keep control sometimes and VERY slippery. Around a few corners I felt like an out of control car.
The next obstacle was where my injuries occurred. I bruised myself pretty bad. You had to get over walls that were about chest high. I hoisted myself up and throw my knee onto the wall. Obviously throwing your knee onto a wooden wall makes your body a little upset. Anyway, you had to go over one wall and under another and this repeated six times. I made it over all six walls, but Kent only had to help on a few of the walls. Since I had been very anxious about this obstacle, I left it with a great sense of accomplishment.
They counted down to the start of the race and then fire torches went off at the start. We ran for .5 mile before the first obstacle. The first one was barbed wire with mud. We crawled under the barbed wire, got all muddy. Next we were off to more jogging, but it was getting a bit harder due to the trail becoming muddier.
It was a while before the next obstacle, which was tires with a cargo net a few feet above them. You had to go under the net and walk through the tires. Then we were out and jogging again. I should mention here that the jogging was in really, really squishy mud at this point. Very difficult to keep control sometimes and VERY slippery. Around a few corners I felt like an out of control car.
The next obstacle was where my injuries occurred. I bruised myself pretty bad. You had to get over walls that were about chest high. I hoisted myself up and throw my knee onto the wall. Obviously throwing your knee onto a wooden wall makes your body a little upset. Anyway, you had to go over one wall and under another and this repeated six times. I made it over all six walls, but Kent only had to help on a few of the walls. Since I had been very anxious about this obstacle, I left it with a great sense of accomplishment.
Next was more jogging in mud. Maybe next time I should train in the rain on dirt trails. Onto the next obstacle we went. This one turned out to be my favorite. We had to wade down into a creek and there were 3-4 logs floating between us and other side. We had to either go over or under the logs. I chose to go over them. I found that to be the easiest way, but looking at the videos it seemed some people had a really hard time with that. I got to the log, which was pretty high considering we were in chest deep water. I put my hands up and dove over it, going under water on the other side. I reached the other side a little before Kent, he chose to go under the logs. Once he was out, we did some more mud running. This was even more challenging now, because we were soaking wet. Try it sometime and you will see it is a good workout.
Soon we were approaching signs that said swimmers and non-swimmers. Well, I can swim so I headed that direction. I realized quickly that swimming fully clothed is a bit different than in a swim suit. My shoes felt like weights being pulled behind me. We swam out into a lake to a floating pantoon thing, had to pull ourselves up onto it, jump back into the water in the middle and back up onto the other side. Then it was back into the lake to reach the other shore. That was not too bad, but swimming in tennis shoes is pretty darn hard.
The next obstacle was where the race turned a bit sour for me. It was a large wall you were to climb. It was angled and had a rope to hold onto. I attempted 3 times, but I did not make it anywhere close to up the wall. Therefore, I had to go around it. I was sooooooo mad!!! I can even picture myself now stomping off like a 5 year old that did not get their way.
The next obstacle was a balance beam of sorts. You walked up a plank, over some boards and then back down on the other side. It was about 6 feet off the ground. I crawled across some of it, but did get the courage to stand and walk the rest. Yes I am scared of heights.
The next obstacle was yet another darn wall which I attempted unsuccessfully. Therefore, I went around it too. After the walls were done, we got into the James river and waded for about .125 to .25 of a mile. Once we were out of the water we were almost to the finish line.
The next obstacle was a cargo net you had to walk over and then a cargo net wall to climb. It was not too hard. I made it over that and then on to the fire jumping. The fire was awesome. Obviously an obstacle that is all about fun. It was a lot of fun.
The final obstacle was the mud pit. Of course when finishing an obstacle race you must be completely filthy. There was barbed wire again to make sure you stayed as close to the mud as possible.
The next obstacle was a cargo net you had to walk over and then a cargo net wall to climb. It was not too hard. I made it over that and then on to the fire jumping. The fire was awesome. Obviously an obstacle that is all about fun. It was a lot of fun.
The final obstacle was the mud pit. Of course when finishing an obstacle race you must be completely filthy. There was barbed wire again to make sure you stayed as close to the mud as possible.
After the mud pit was the finish line. Once we received our medals, it was back into the James River for some mud removal. It is amazing how getting in a river is nothing to you at that point.
After the race we went to have a free beer. I have never wanted the free beer following a race before, but this one deserved a beer.
Now comes the unexpected workout of the day and one of the highlights for me. On the way back to the car, there were vehicles stuck in the mud everywhere. We helped push a minivan all the way to the exit. That was a great post race workout, and I felt great for helping someone.
After that we finally made it back to our car. We were parked on some fairly dry ground, but there was a series of mud pits between us and the exit. I told Kent I would stay outside the car to help push. The guy told us to head for the tree line and just keep going toward the exit when we got there. Well, we seemed to have a great plan, and I was there in case we needed some pushing. Kent did exactly what we said and took off. What we did not plan for was the fact that he actually made it the full half mile to the exit. This was great, but there was a problem…. I was not in the car. Here enters the second post workout. I had to run from where we parked to the exit, just a half mile in the mud again. I passed all sorts of people that were amazed that Kent had made it all the way through the mud. I was telling them as I ran past that it was great that my car made it out, but that it would have been better if I was in it. They thought this was as humorous as I did. I finally made it to the car all covered in mud, hitchhikers and pretty darn happy. Not only had I completed most of a Warrior Dash that day, but I had followed it with two pretty impressive workouts.
Now comes the unexpected workout of the day and one of the highlights for me. On the way back to the car, there were vehicles stuck in the mud everywhere. We helped push a minivan all the way to the exit. That was a great post race workout, and I felt great for helping someone.
After that we finally made it back to our car. We were parked on some fairly dry ground, but there was a series of mud pits between us and the exit. I told Kent I would stay outside the car to help push. The guy told us to head for the tree line and just keep going toward the exit when we got there. Well, we seemed to have a great plan, and I was there in case we needed some pushing. Kent did exactly what we said and took off. What we did not plan for was the fact that he actually made it the full half mile to the exit. This was great, but there was a problem…. I was not in the car. Here enters the second post workout. I had to run from where we parked to the exit, just a half mile in the mud again. I passed all sorts of people that were amazed that Kent had made it all the way through the mud. I was telling them as I ran past that it was great that my car made it out, but that it would have been better if I was in it. They thought this was as humorous as I did. I finally made it to the car all covered in mud, hitchhikers and pretty darn happy. Not only had I completed most of a Warrior Dash that day, but I had followed it with two pretty impressive workouts.
There were times that I was insanely disappointed, but overall it was a lot of fun. Now to start thinking about what I want to do next. Got to keep myself motivated.
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