Mud Queen: Mudslog XC and Other Accomplishments

I am feeling pretty proud of myself today! Within the last 48 hours I have:

• Completed an 8 mile obstacle trail run!
• Made it out the door in less than 30 minutes after over sleeping by an hour.
• Taught third grade with a smile on my face, despite my aching body, and hobbling legs.

So let’s chat: the Mudslog XC is a 8 mile cross-country race that involves many hills, crazy terrain, and several obstacles such as:

• Huge pits of smelly mud. Times 3.
• Crawling through tunnels down steep hills.
• Climbing over a wall.
• Swimming approximately 100 feet in a very cold pond.
• Crawling up a creek through another tunnel.
• Climbing and jumping over trees and other random obstacles.
• Traversing over a string of floating barrels and wooden pallets.

Sounds slightly insane yes, but I finished with a smile on my face, and a plan to do it again!

Smiling and talking-great for photos!

My pre-race ‘carb load’ was dinner at Olive Garden. I am not entirely sold on the carbohydrate loading before a race-I have read a few opposing opinions. And my tendency to eat more Paleo-style definitely conflicts with the pasta. However, Olive Garden held its own with salad, a breadstick, and a lasagna primavera with grilled chicken. I always crave chicken when I am preparing for a run!

Grilled chicken and lasagna perfection!

I slept really well surprisingly. I don’t normally sleep well before any type of big event, plus I was staying at a friend’s house. I woke up fairly early (naturally) and got myself ready with a little pre-race photo shoot. I had to get some shots of my brand new orange shirt before the mud hit it! My breakfast consisted of a protein muffin-a recipe that I have adapted from other blogs. It turned out to be the perfect combination of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. And then we were on our way to the race venue-a horse farm. Hence the smelly mud. I was super nervous, but tried to zone, and focus on myself with music. A little texting support from my two biggest fans: Mom and Dad also helped!

Orange for pumpkin! And Halloween of course.

The weather was gorgeous-sunny and fairly warm. This was a relief! The race started out with us running through a cornfield that had been chopped down-serious bonus points for not impaling myself on an old corn-stalk! The first obstacle was a mud/water pit. Every obstacle would give me a burst of happiness! Slightly insane I know. I am sure that I was the only one grinning about having to run through smelly mud and water! A little way into the run I was feeling less than fantastic. I couldn’t get enough oxygen and my legs were starting to feel heavy. I wanted to walk, but resisted for a while. I did break down and walk at a few different points, but once I accepted that walking was okay I felt much better! My goal was to finish and have fun, not set records.

Mid-run and feeling good at this point!

The obstacles I especially loved (and owned!):

• The wall climb: I usually am insanely ungraceful, so I was nervous when I first saw this, but it was a breeze! One leg up, other leg over, and then I jumped!
• Swimming across a pond was so cold! Thankfully there was a rope so I ended up pulling myself along it in order to get out of that water as quickly as possible! Afterwards, my legs felt better-like a mid run ice bath! And I didn’t get cold like I thought I would.
• I impressed myself the most with the barrel obstacle-and it was fun! The key was to move quick and pretend you were surfing on the wooden platforms between each barrel [expert here]. Fortunately, my family got to witness my quickness with this obstacle!

My favorite obstacle!

My finishing time is not impressive, but I am not too worried about it-I finished and now I have a goal to set for next year! It was awesome to see all of the different types of runners and people. At one point I was running with a woman who had done a couple of marathons (um what?!). Very cool!

Almost to the finish line and feeling the adrenaline!

I felt pretty good at the end of the race. My legs were sore and my knees were a bit tender, but I was still able to walk run (true story) around. I thought I would be collapsing! I was incredibly happy to see my family at the end-definite motivation throughout the run! As the day went on, I was feeling okay as far as my muscles, but I wasn’t ever hungry. I kept waiting for the post race hunger to kick in, but it never came. Instead I experienced some nausea. So the post race epic meal of a burger and sweet potato fries  and loads of ketchup never happened. Instead I had 2 eggs, steak, and some veggies before bed. (Along with other snacks through the day.)

Possibly an odd combination, but so yummy!

Today I am feeling a bit run down. More so than I expected or planned. Hopefully lots of rest and good nutrition (What better time to start the Whole30?!) will help me recover quickly!

Have you done a trail or mud run before? How did you feel after? Addicted? (Yes I am!)