June 19-20
I just went to Scotland for a day specifically for the tough mudder. It was grueling to say the least but rewarding. If you don’t know what tough mudder is it’s a 10-12 mile obstacle course in the well mud. The proceeds went to support a charitable UK organization called “Help for Heroes,” which helps wounded veterans. It is similar to the US organization “the Wounded Warrior Project,” which has the same goals of helping wounded veterans. While the obstacle race started in the US back in 2010, it has become an international success with races now sprouting across Europe.
So I went straight from work on that Friday to drive the 6 hours to Dumfries super close to the border of Scotland, which is where my hotel was. The view from my room was really something, with the rooftops below and the mountains off in the distance.
The morning of I was on a mission to find a kilt or something scottish to possibly wear in the race. I was cutting it close so I did a mini sprint through town once I parked. Once I finally stepped foot in the kilt store, the prices were a bit out of my price range so I got out of there with a bit of a sulk. Oh well, there’s always next year, I thought to myself. I got back in my car and drove the rest of the way to Drumlanrig castle, which is where the tough mudder was to be held. I was already running late trying to find a kilt so I was in a bit of a hurry to get checked in.
After I checked in my bag, I headed to the starting line. There was a guy there to get people warmed up and excited to start the race. He pointed out this group of guys dressed as super heroes and said “you know what we do with super heroes…have a super hero battle” or something along those lines. First up, it was Batman vs. Superman. Wearing a batman shirt of course I would root for him and of course he won. Next up was Iron Man vs. Spiderman. Iron man won this round. With that, Batman and Iron Man were pitted against each other. It was quite the struggle and the crowd was yelling out the name of the super hero they wanted to win. In the end it was Iron Man who won all the marbles, which in this case was just bragging rights with his friends.
We did a few more warm up exercises before he sent us off to the next section. It wasn’t time yet. First they had to go over some rules and then we recited the tough mudder pledge. It ended with “I overcome all fears.” It was enough to get me pumped up and motivated for what was to come. This wasn’t my first tough mudder (my first was in Virginia) so I wasn’t as nervous as I was back then. I knew I could get through this. And like that we were off. The first obstacle was a low crawl under a barbed wire. This is what it looked like:
Everything was 2.0, double the challenge from last years obstacles. The Arctic Enema, an obstacle where you have to delve into freezing cold water was much colder and larger than the last time I did it. Also, instead of stepping into it this time I had to slide into it, which gave me no time to mentally prepare myself. There were many obstacles where you have to go over tall wooden walls. What I love about this event that it values camaraderie. Everyone helps each other through the course, whether you know the person or not. It’s not really a race, but a challenge and a journey. It’s what will keep me going back. So on these particular obstacles, people would help me as well as other get up over the wall and over.
I brought gloves this time, which didn’t help on the one thing I needed them on, this obstacle called “the funky monkey.” It’s just monkey bars suspended over a pool of muddy water, but it’s harder than it looks. You have to go up and down the bars at an angle and after going through all the previous obstacles it’s not an easy chore. So suffice it to say, I fell.
Another memorable obstacle was one in which we literally had to trudge through a swamp. It is the closest feeling to what I believe would be the way it feels to be in quick sand. We were stuck. It took quite a bit of energy to drag my feet one at a time through the thick bog. I lived in Florida for most of my life never did I get stuck in a swamp. It took me coming all the way to Scotland to get in such a situation. How Ironic!
Of course to wash off we had to suffer through another obstacle, one of those being the “King of the Swingers.” It was pretty similar to the walk the plank obstacle I had to do in Virginia, in which I had to jump from about a height of 12 feet into yet another pit of muddy water. The 2.0 in this case is that I not only had to jump from that height, I also was asked to jump onto a metal bar, swing over and attempt to hit a bell.
I’m only afraid of heights in some cases and this happened to be one of them. I mean I’ve sky dived from 18,000 ft, but there was a guy strapped to me who knew what he was doing. There’s something entirely different when you have no control over you falling. I did jump, but straight into the water and not on the bar. The bar was maybe five feet away so you had to jump to the bar in order to reach it.
The last obstacle was my worst enemy. It was accurately named “electroshock therapy.” Last year, I had chickened out half way through, not able to take it anymore. This time I was determined to conquer it! In this obstacle, there are dozens of hanging wires with electric current suspended from beams. The object is basically to just run through it. You can do this, I told myself in preparation. I took a few deep breaths and then plunged through the stream of wires.
I got hit with electricity about 4 or so times. It made it easier with no hay bails to jump over like last time. Still, one gave me quite a punch and knocked me down at the end. I got back up and ran the rest of the way to the finish line. I was handed an orange tough mudder head band and an ice cold cider. I was looking forward to this. I had made it and was ready for my victory! Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for one. When I asked for the time it was already 6pm and I still had to drive back since I had work the next day. That was another obstacle in itself. With the construction, it added another hour to my drive since my GPS couldn’t figure out an alternate route. As soon as I got home, I crashed into a deep slumber. With all that, it was still worth it!
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