Our start time was at 11:00 so we got there about 2 hours before. The weather the day before was really rainy and cold so I was very nervous with Saturday being the same. When we got there though it was nice and sunny, but the wind made it pretty cold. Then about a half hour before we started, a lovely overcast hit us and made things even colder! I have to say I was not looking forward to it since our 2nd obstacle was "Arctic Enema" where you have to get completely in and under ice water! I just tried not thinking about it though as best as I could! Then standing at the start line while the announcer goes over his ritual sayings and with the music blaring, really got me pumped!! I knew I could do this no matter what conditions!!
We started strong running about a half mile before we got to our 1st Obstacle "Kiss of Mud." It's a barbed wire obstacle that you have to army crawl under it in the mud. After we did that, "Arctic Enema" was well in view and my heart started pumping fast! I knew what was coming!! Getting in that cold cold water is like a whole shock to your body and you feel like you cant breathe! It literally takes your breath away! I managed of getting in and out as fast as I could, but once I went under the board to the other side, there were a bunch of people in front of me and I had to wait what I felt like FOREVER before getting out! Once I was out, the wind was blowing hard and that made the cold even more intense!!!
Once all of us were out, we just ran, trying to keep our bodies warm! We had a good ways to go before we got to the next obstacle. With our bodies moving, I actually felt pretty good and not cold after a bit. We hit about 7 more obstacles one being the "Berlin Walls," another "Kiss of Mud," "King of the Mountain," and "Dirty Ballerina." That one was fun! You had to climb in and out of these trenches full of muddy water and there were about 15 of them!
The next one that I was nervous about was "Electric Eel." That one is like the kiss of mud, but you get zapped with wires full of electricity that you cannot avoid! Last TM in Phoenix, I got zapped about a good 10+ times and it did not feel too well! So me knowing what it felt like, made it harder for me to do it again! Once I was there and ready to go in, I just hauled booty and went through as fast as I could! Luckily this time, I only felt a few little zaps and one BIG ZAP! I was out of there before I knew it though and oddly enough, it was fun!! I think it was more of the adrenaline from it that I liked!
The one after that was "Balls to the Wall." It was a brand new one where you had to climb a wall holding onto a rope about 2 stories high and then come down the opposite side of the wall. Looking at it wasn't bad, but once I started going up and then coming down, I realized how high I really was and kind of froze a bit! I am not a huge fan of heights, especially when I don't feel in control of what I'm doing. That one was probably the scariest one for me! I was glad to be back on the ground that's for sure!!
At that point, we hit quite a few more obstacles where since there were so many people, we had to wait, which wasn't good for us keeping warm and our muscles warm. I think about that time in the race is when I started getting cold and uncomfortable! Plus, there were more water obstacles ahead, so that made it hard to look forward in doing!
We did the "Funky Monkey" which were the monkey bars over water. The bars were so dang slippery that I only made it to the 4th bar and then fell in! The very first TM I got all the way across, but the last 2 times, my hands just kept slipping! Very frustrating! We also did "Walk the Plank" where you climb up a platform and then jump off it into water. The last time was so fun, but because it was SO DANG COLD, it made it harder this time to do it, but I got enough guts and went for it! And MAN that water was COLD!!!
I was freezing by that time and was just ready to be done! We ended up doing "Everest" which is a half pipe you have to run up and get to the top! I was so tired and cold, but managed to get enough energy to run up it and luckily the guys at top helped pull me up! My brother tried 3 times before getting up! He did awesome though and kept at it instead of giving up!
Then last, but not least was Electricshock Therapy." That one is similar to "Electric Eel," but you run through it and the electric current is MUCH more intense! Oh, and you are in water too! As we were waiting and next in line, a group of fire fighters before us went through. This guy in his late 30's got shocked, fell down, got shocked again and again and ended up freezing up and had a seizure right then and there! It was so bad that they had to unplug the electricity and pull him out! He was in real bad shape and after seeing that, me having been through it twice, thought, Not worth it to me at all, and we ended up skipping it to the Finish Line.
We were SO happy to be done, were freezing our butts off, but had a blast working as a team and accomplishing 12 miles and 21 crazy obstacles! Like I've said before, during TM I think, why do I do this to myself??, but once I am finished and look back, I am already looking forward to the next one!!
So there you have it! Just a glimpse of another TM!! I am so happy to have done it with Jaren and all the other guys! It was the most fun I had as a team and hope we can do another one together!! Oh, and a huge thanks to Douglas and my sister in law Kellie who pretty much ran majority of the race to get pictures and video of it all!! So until next time... Here are some pics of the day!!
Before "Arctic Enema"
AFTER!!
Jaren and I
"Hold Your Wood!"
We survived Electric Eel!
"Just the tip"
Still going strong!
"Balls to the Wall"
Still Smiling :)
Lots of team work!!
Cliff Hanger
WE FINISHED!!
Jaren and Kellie
Loved the Support!!
