I don’t know where to start writing about my experience with the Tough Mudder in Beaver Creek this past weekend. I had really been dreading it, I only signed up because Curt had, and I thought it would motivate me with my workouts (it did). More than doing the event, I was definitely looking forward to an otherwise relaxing weekend in Beaver Creek.
We left on Friday morning, and drove straight though to Vail to have lunch. We went to a mexican restaurant that we had eaten at with friends last year and it wasn’t as good as we remembered. I think it must have been those half price margaritas last year that had left such a favorable impression on me.
After lunch we walked around Vail Village and then decided to head to our hotel in Beaver Creek. Who knew Beaver Creek was a gated community? Not us, that’s for sure. After we got through the gates, made it to our hotel and checked we, we headed out to check out the town. It was definitely a very nice, upscale town. Outdoor ice skating in June? Check. Add Dom Perignon to your hamburger and fries for $298? Check.
We walked a little of the Tough Mudder course on Friday night. I really had the attitude it was better to go in without really knowing much. At the point I really couldn’t do anything more to prepare so why did it really matter? We had a nice dinner at the Beaver Creek Chophouse (very good) and then headed to the hotel for some R&R before the fun began on Saturday morning.
Saturday morning we woke up and headed down to registration for the event. Registration was very well organized, we hardly waited in line to receive our packet and write our numbers on our head and arm. We went back to the hotel to waste some time before our wave began at 10:40. Right before we headed down I put in an unopened pair of contacts I found lurking in my bathroom drawer. I’m sure I haven’t worn contacts in a year so I wasn’t sure how it would go but I certainly couldn’t wear my glasses so if worse came to worse I would just take them out while we were out on the course (they ended up working great).
When it was time for our wave to line up we discovered you had to scale a wall just to get to the start line. I’m not sure if this is some sort of confidence builder or what, but it didn’t really help me get excited for the event to start. Curt hoisted me over and I landed on my 2 feet but as I went to scoot out of the way for others to get over, I tripped on the frame. Yep, I am that clumsy. Curt made it over and we headed to the start to wait for our wave to begin. While we waited a very enthusiastic guy pumped us up, we sang the national anthem, and then were on our way.
The Obstacles (as I remember them to be, which might not be completely accurate):
1. Braveheart Challenge – Jump over a hay bale, easy enough.
2. Cliffhanger – Ok, I think this was our 1st climb up the mountain. I guess one thing I had going for me was endurance. A lot of people were stopping and resting on the climb but Curt and I were able to keep going, slowly but surely.
3. Devil’s Beard – Crawling under a cargo net. Not too bad because most people bear crawled and the net wasn’t too big of an issue.
4. Trench Warfare – Sort of belly crawling through a muddy tunnel. Not horrible.
5. Log Bog Jog – Um, I really don’t remember.
6. Shock on the rocks – Crawling through rocky water with live wires hanging overhead. Fun? I got shocked one time. Not too bad.
7. Berlin Walls – Curt hoisted me over the first one. I was just going to skip the 2nd but then realized there was no reason to skip it so I had him hoist me over the 2nd one as well.
8. Swamp Stomp – Running through mud, again, not too bad.
9. Underwater tunnels – More crawling through tunnels? They really all blend together after awhile.
10. Hold Your Wood – Carrying a log up around a loop. Not bad if you pick a small log to carry.
11. Arctic Enema – Oh boy. I am still having nightmares about this one. Basically you jump in, get to the center of the “pool”, go under a board that is in the water (so you are forced to duck in the ice water) and then get to the other end and climb out. There were several inches of ice on the top of the pool. I’ve never even taken an ice bath during my marathon training so this was all a huge shock to me. I jumped in and just felt my body tense up and sort of go into shock (in the most non-technical use of the term). I made my way to the center, ducked down, and was still alive on the other side. I made it to the end of the pool but there was no way to climb out. I believe I yelled “help, help, get me out of here” and Curt was busy snapping a picture before he could come to my rescue. And I’m pretty sure I kicked the girl I was sharing a lane with during my panick to get out.
12. Gauntlet – Still reeling from the ice fun, this obstacle had you climbing a large snow pile, while they sprayed snow at you. I got targeted and knocked down once, but made it though.
13. Sweaty Yeti – Another snow climb. At the top of this one you had to slide down the snow, which by the time we came through was hard and, well, that doesn’t feel good on one’s butt.
14. Hanging Tough – Travel across a pool of water by hanging rings. Oh I was so close to grabbing that 2nd ring but I fell right in the pool. It was cold, but not Arctic Enema cold. Curt promptly pulled me out of the water, thankfully.
15. Boa Constrictor – More tunnels, more fun.
16. Log Jammin’ – Ok at this point we had finally made it to the top of the mountain for a 2nd time. I was really losing my motivation and just wanted it to all be over. But thankfully this obstacle came up and it was easy – over, under, and in between logs.
17. Berlin Walls – I totally skipped these. The first set were 8′ and that was tough enough for Curt to get me over. These were 10′, and given my lack of upper body strength I think it would have been very hard to get over. I really should have tried though. Not even trying kind of set me up for what happened through the rest of the race.
18. Spider’s web – Climbing to the top of a cargo net and then back down the other side. Once the guys climbed over they would all hold the net down to make it easier for those coming next to climb over. That is fine but going up I felt sort of backwards because of the angle the net was being held at. I got to the top of the net and then got a cramp in my leg and just crawled back down the same side. I really battled cramps after the Arctic Enema obstacle.
19. Kiss of Mud – Crawling through more rocky mud with barbed wire on top of you. I saw some people bear crawling through this but, knowing me, I would have scrapped up my back if I tried that. So I did more belly crawling. My legs and forearms will never be the same after this day.
20. Glacier – After the Kiss of Mud, I was having trouble catching my breath, so I passed on this. But basically you climb up a huge snow pile, belly crawl across the top with live wires hanging over you. Sorry to have missed it.
21. Twinkle Toes – Balance beam over a pool. I don’t know why I didn’t try this one. I think I was seriously just over the race at this point.
22. Funky Monkey – Monkey bars that go at an incline and then down a decline. Oy, I skipped again. I knew I’d fall in but again I should have attempted. Poor attitude…
23. Everest – A huge ramp to run up and hope some one grabs you and pulls you the rest of the way. Um, I stood and watched every girl run and slam into the ramp. Skipped again…
24. Electroshock Therapy – Ok, I couldn’t skip the very last obstacle, and it was just those pesky live wires that I had already been through once. I watched Curt go though and right at the end he fell and slid about 10 yards in the mud. I didn’t know if he had been hit or what (he had just slipped) but it made me pause a bit before going through. I watched a few others go and then I just went for it. It was running through mud and jumping over a hay bail in the middle. I managed to stay on my feet and I was shocked 2 times. Not bad.
We crossed the finish line, got our headbands, and enjoyed our free beer. It ended up taking us around 5 hours to complete the 24 obstacles over 12 miles up and down the mountain (4,000 ft in elevation changes).
I carried a disposable, waterproof camera along the course with me and can’t wait to get those pictures back. I took them in today (to the 1 place in our town that still does film developing) and was told it would be a week to get the pictures back. Here is one picture I took of my legs, post race (they seem to look worse every day).
After the race, we cleaned up, headed around the “expo” area for some souvenirs, then out to dinner at a cafe (where you could add Dom Parignon to any Mexican meal for $250). We went to the hotel and had a nice soak in the hot tub, then relaxed in our room. Sunday we packed up and headed home. Such a relatively fun weekend, and definitely nice to get away for a couple of days.
Read Full Post »
Our Adventures in Wyoming 