Madison Mud Run - 2011

Back in the beginning of April, I saw an advertisement for what looked like the coolest race ever -  Madison Mud Run.  It looked like a mix between a run and an ultimate Survivor challenge.  Now is the time that I should probably point out that I have never, ever wanted to be a runner.  Running was not even remotely fun.  The few times that I had to run to catch my bus, I would be so embarrassed as I entered the bus gasping for air.  But, I have been looking for something new to drop these last 10 pounds from having three kids.  Something that did not require scheduled classes, since I never know when I will have free time.  So, I decided that I would do it.  I would sign up to run this almost 5 mile race, with less than 6 weeks to train, with absolutely no running experience.  Crazy, right?

Luckily I convinced (which actually took absolutely no convincing at all) my wonderful friends and husband to join me in the race, which made it 100x more fun!  Even the training was fun since the three of us girls did it together.  The theme for the race was superheroes, so we made these wonderful costumes to race in. 

From left to right the shirts say, "It's Mommy's turn to play in the mud"  "I have 3 boys, I know MUD!"  "Faster than a speeding toddler"  and "My kids think I'm a superhero"



And the super capes

The two dads who were not running in the race were in charge of watching our kids for us while we crawled through the mud.  On race day, it was CRAZY windy and cold, which was unfortunate since there were a few obstacles involving water.  But we were determined to finish the race no matter what.  It was so much fun, and we felt so proud of ourselves after completing (even if we did finish in the bottom 25%).

Starting the race -  Go Team 406!

Crawling through the mud pit at the end

We did it!

All our late night runs paid off

Now here is what you don't see captured in the pictures:

Only days before our big race, Pa sliced her leg open and had to get many stitches.  The doctor warned her to not run in the race, mostly due to risk of infection.  But Pa's (doctor) husband found some magic bandaids that covered it well and Pa defied doctors orders to run.

A few days later, Nina dropped a razor blade on her foot.  Luckily it was a small, manageable cut and she was still able to race.

The night before the race, Jason couldn't sleep because he got a stomach bug.  But he still ran/walked the race with no sleep and no energy.

I battled a knee injury for the weeks prior to the race, but luckily had no problems running that day.

The driving force behind my run that day was a determination to get back to our kids.  I was so worried that Violet would be screaming for me the entire time and that Rowan would be lost in the crowd by the time we returned.  Of course when we returned, all the kids were just fine.

There were many obstacles throughout the race, including climbing walls, a bouncy house, a giant slip and slide, and monkey bars.  When we arrived at the monkey bars, Pa was hesitant to do them because they were ridiculously high off the ground and the bars sort of twisted as we went across.  Well, when her turn came, she flew across those bars like a little monkey - with her own awesome style too.  I grabbed onto the second bar and fell flat on my back.  :) 

All in all, it was an incredible experience, and I know there are more races to come in my future :D