Texas Tough Mudder - 1/29/2011 - Part 2

This is Part 2 of the Tough Mudder series. If you haven't read Part 1 yet, go down and start from there.

After mile 5 my right knee was really starting to bother me. For some stupid reason I had decided to take a ballet class the Thursday before the event, I don't know what I was thinking. Between that class and just not being in great running shape, I really started to mess up my knee. Not to mention, it's really hard to run when your shoes are caked in mud. Form just goes to hell.

So between mile 5 and about mile 7, it was mostly trail running. There were a few obstacles, such as the Boa Constrictor: a series of small tubes that you had to army crawl through. Then there was the creek run. Yep, you guessed it. More running through cold ass water trying to make it across before your feet froze off. And the Log Bog Jog: run through a swamp while hopping over a series of downed trees.



Jeremy was really good about walking with me when I needed and fake running with me when I felt that I could. My run was more of a very slow jog at that point.

As we made our way back into the main area of the course we were met with the Texas Smoke House. At this point they would have normally had a large fire that you had to run through, but because of the burn ban in effect, they switched over to a smoke house. The idea: jump through the window of the house, then make your way out through the thick smoke. Be careful... there may be hidden obstacles.

So here's where things got interesting. First we stop to grab a few shot blocks. Then Jeremy goes first. He jumps through the window then turns around to help me in. As he turns around, he doesn't realize that the ground drops off behind him, and he goes sliding down the mud slope into the huge mud pit at the bottom. I was laughing so hard, I could hardly crawl into the house. "Jeremy down!"

Again, you needed help getting out of the mud pit, because the little mud hill on the other side (still in the smoky house) was too steep to be able to get your footing to get out on your own.

I can't really remember the order of the next few obstacles, but I know they included the Mud Mile. A series of huge mud pits lined up for about a quarter mile. These were fun... and really muddy! See...




After the mud run we hit the next obstacle: Hold Your Wood. Run up and over a series of hills carrying large tree logs. Cause at this point, you were only carrying your own weight up and over all the hills, walls and streams.

But the worst obstacle was still to come...