Mudderfuckery

So, I did one of those mud runs (Mudzilla) over the weekend. This was me, trying like hell to remain upright and photogenic, after finishing. I am not fast. I am, in fact, embarassingly slow by my standards… but at least I was as fast as everyone else from my office who participated.

Yes, I have a large grease pencil X on my forehead, because… what are you, new?

5k-ish, with a lot of obstacles providing a nice array of challenges – mud pits where you had to scale tires and duck under logs, a wall to climb with a knotted rope for assistance (this one almost bested me), a tire to drag, buckets of water to carry, stuff to jump and climb over/under, a straightforward rope climb to ring a bell, tires to do fast footwork, wood frame and monkey bar things to scale and traverse, and dirt/haybale/discarded vehicle hills to climb, with various methods of getting back down (more dirt or hay, or waterslides into a splashdown area… going head-first with my arms in a “not the face!” defensive stance was a big hit with the staffers working those obstacles.

All in all, it was enjoyable, with the exception of rolling my ankle on one of the obstacles around the two mile mark (slide down a big tube into a splashdown area… this one was surprisingly shallow, and not at all softly-churned mud at the bottom, like every other water hazard had been), which prevented me from even attempting what looked like the most challenging construction on the course (a rope bridge – two single ropes on the side, with a single rope upon which to walk… it was totally up thewronghands‘ alley, but by that point, half a mile or so of walking/running on a cranky leg meant I couldn’t even stand on the rope stably. I did my alternate-exercise option (a paltry ten situps) and kept going. (Considering that other obstacles had exercise penalties like “twenty five burpees”… yeah, that one was a breather.)

Also a big hit was the orange camo utilikilt, but that’s hardly surprising. Afterwards, once I’d gotten my ankle kind of taped, numerous strangers asked for pictures, so, hey. Chatting up friendly folks with common interests, some of whom had, and some of whom were about to, undertake the same shenanigans? I forget that I occasionally enjoy being social when it’s not being artificially imposed by people who are stressed out and need my help. :-)

Apparently, I struck a particularly photogenic moment jumping over the fire pit fifty yards from the finish; unfortunately, the race photographers were in only two places – after the finish line, and atop the rope climb up a wood wall. Bah.

I was pleased to be able to do all the other obstacles, though, despite my relative lack of training (both explicit cardio, which was wildly apparent given my frequent walking intervals) as well as dynamic work… and the lingering shoulder shit, about which I will consult with my GP this coming Friday to review my x-rays

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I had a consulting conversation with Josh Sunday afternoon, after sending him this, which is what passes for a “mea culpa” in my workout lingo:

Since I am tired of being dictated to by my body, I feel like taking charge and telling ot what to do for the next three and a half months.

Can I take the two remaining weeks from my last block of training and work with you on a fourteen week powerbuilding program? I want to re-dedicate myself here, screw the limitations. My head needs to be mechanically separated from my ass, because the view from there sucks.

Basically, I want to kick ass from now until Labor Day (the week of July 2-7 will be a de-load due to travelling to visit my folks back up north) and quit whining and making excuses.

Two-a-days? I’ll get my ass up early.
Lose coffee with cream and sugar? Tea or black it is.
Throw my truck tire around the back yard like some kind of Mad Max reject? You got it.

I’ll test whatever 1RM’s you need me to explore over the next week, and have my consultation with my physician about my shoulder next weekend, but I am tired of feeling beaten and defeated and weak.

Let me know what you think. Thanks.

So, here we go.

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