Apr 16 2011

Mud Dog Run 5K

I just completed my second 5K of the year and well, this one was different. This is no ordinary race but one with obstacles and it definitely lives up to its name.  (~45 min. vs. last week’s 33 min. normal 5K)

Check it out the official website here.

Below is a small map of the race course with the obstacles noted. The larger map has a description but they won’t do justice to the ridiculousness that is the Mud Dog Run.


View Larger Map

Now that you have an idea of the race here’s a quick list of notes from my experience:

Favorite Obstacle:  Climb the Tercel
Definitely that beat up Toyota Tercel on the back side of the course.  I chose the bumper to seated roof landing, and slide down the back windshield and trunk method.  Effective but I’ll probably have a bruise.

Favorite Obstacle (Runner-up):  Mystery Obstacle #2 – Massive slip-n-slide
This was especially refreshing after the completely ridiculous obstacle that wins my least favorite.

Least Favorite Obstacle:  Mystery Obstacle #1 – Pit of Flour
Yep, you read that right.  A pit of white flour through which you had to roll or crawl through due to bungie cord roof about 2 feet above the pit.  You’re already soaked so being covered in flour is not pleasant.  All I can say is that this obstacle alone almost gave the slip-n-slide the favorite obstacle title.

Tip #1
Try to space yourself out a bit from large groups.  Each obstacle is a bottle-neck of sorts.  The more difficult the obstacle the longer the backup and wait to get through it.  Spacing out for the quicker obstacles will keep you moving.

Tip #2
Go with a couple friends or make some friends during the wait for the race to start.  Running with someone, and this is coming from a guy who is usually a solo runner for races, makes a huge difference when your dealing with these obstacles and the lull between each one.

Lesson of the Day
You’re going to be soaked and muddy almost immediately . . . any attempt to avoid or limit said condition is futile.

Interested in joining me next year? How about one like this in June? Let me know. The more the merrier!!

Mar 9 2011

Where would I be without . . .

It started a few years ago and has always lived in my head while really needing to make its way to my lips on more occasions.  It’s shared privately but not publicly nearly enough.  Thanks to this great post by Wes Molebash at WesDraws.com I’m sharing it now . . .

My wife is amazing.

Wes titled his post “Behind Every Slightly-Overweight, Struggling Cartoonist Is A Hot Wife” and since I’m not a cartoonist, or nearly as clever as he is, I’ll simply replicate and edit that for myself:

Behind every out-of-shape, semi-OCD, recovering pessimist and number-crunching geek is a hot wife

Yep, that’s more accurate for me.

She makes me want, and therefore strive, to be a better man, better husband and better Christian.  I’m more compassionate, less pessimistic and worry A LOT less because of her.  She makes me laugh, can always make me smile and definitely keeps me from taking myself too seriously.  I must echo Wes again by agreeing with the statement of “my wife’s faith inspires my own.”

For the record:  I know that I “married up” . . . and I’m not sure where I’d be without her.

Share, if you’d like, how your significant other has changed your life or what you love about them.  Thanks again to Wes Molebash for the inspiration for this post.