Mighty Mudders Get Dirty In Halifax, NS
WARNING: Profanity in this post! Friday after work, Jeff, myself, Amanda and Awesome Al all packed ourselves and our luggage into the car and headed to Halifax for Mud Hero. Mud Hero is a 6 Km mud run (yes, you go through A LOT of mud) with obstacles. I knew I would get hungry on the way to Halifax so I made sure to pack some healthy food. If I didn't do that I would end up spending money on shitty convenient store food that I would regret. I left Fredericton with some cherries, a chicken wrap and a banana and by the time we got to Halifax it was all in my belly. Once we arrived at the hotel, we were all ready for supper. Of course, we didn't know where to eat but with the help of Google and Jeff's random decision of where to eat we ended up at a fantastic restaurant. We went to La Cucina and I had the spinach and goat cheese stuffed chicken with gnocchi in red pesto (you can view the picture of my supper later in this blog post). It was one of the best treat meals I have ever had and I would definitely go back and eat there again. I also ended up eating some of Jeff's garlic fingers and Al's muscles which were also both very good! I really wanted to eat 'light' the night before the event (but shit happened and I stuffed myself with pasta) because the last thing I wanted was to wake up the morning of Mud Hero and feel hung over from the amount of food I had eaten the previous night. Thankfully, by morning I was feeling like myself and was ready for the event. I guess I 'carbed up' before the event.
After our bellies were full and we were all ready to have food babies we went back to the hotel to decorate our shirts for the event. It was my first time meeting Kate and Raena who are friends with Amanda. I must say I didn't have a problem getting along with these ladies. Our team name was "Mighty Mudders" and our hashtag was #letsgetdirty. We all personalized our own shirts and then signed each others shirt before the event.
By the time we were finished we were all ready for bed. As usual, the hotel beds were amazingly comfortable. I absolutely LOVE sleeping in hotel beds. It always makes me realize that I should really spend the money and purchase a nice bed but I also quickly forget about it. I had an AMAZING sleep but apparently the rest of the team didn't sleep so well. In the morning, we got up for our breakfast that was included in with the hotel package. I've had some lovely hotels breakfasts before but this one was nothing special. I ate some eggs and fruit. In my opinion, the eggs tasted weird. On the second day, I skipped out on the hotel breakfast and drank Shakeology instead. At this point in time, I was starting to be a bit nervous for Mud Hero. It was all beginning to be so real.
After breakfast, we got on our outfits for the run which were very tight fitting. The reason being was that we didn't want to lose our clothes in the mud. Amanda had done some pretty intense research and informed us of what type of clothing we should wear. I must say she must have done a great job researching because none of us had a problem with our clothing.
We had been told to show up for the went an hour and a half earlier than our wave time. At the time, we thought "why?" but once we got to the place we understood. If you ever participate in Mud Hero show up an hour and a half before because you will need it. We actually were a bit later than our hour and a half recommendation and that meant we were pressed for time. Firstly, there was a line up of cars waiting to get into the event and be pointed to a parking spot. BTW the parking cost money (for us, it was $10). Once we got parked, we walked to the registration lines to grab our Mud Hero swag and registration number along with a chip that was added to our shoe for our official run time. That chip is important because at the end of the event you can turn it in for a beverage of your choice including an alcoholic one (oh right, and it tracks our run time). At this time, a good friend Ruth who was also part of our team met up with us. She had been staying with her best friend Evelyne which I was lucky enough to meet this weekend too. Evelyne is actually from my home town yet we had never met each other before. The area I grew up in is pretty small so meeting someone who you've never met or even heard of is almost impossible. This girl is super sweet. She came to the event to cheer on her best friend, Ruth and take pictures. She did an excellent job at both and will actually be joining us next year for the event! EEEEEK! All of the muddy pictures shown on this blog post were taken by her.
Once we had checked in with registration we needed to check our bags in yet another line. Your bag and yourself were given the same number so that after the event you would go back and match the number on your wrist with the number on your bag. I wondered what would happen if you lost your number during the event but it wasn't an issue for me. The paper around my wrist didn't even have a tear in it by the end of the event. The last stop before the run was the porta potty because I needed to pee. Do I have to say more? Stay hydrated, they say...hydrating in the morning means you will need to use the porta potty before the run.
At this point in time, I was getting nervous. I have been wanting to do Mud Hero for a while but never had the balls (or boobs?) to actually sign up for it. I had seen people do it before but I never did it because honestly I was scared I would fail at it. I was scared that I would get hurt. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to run it. I was scared I would need help. But really it was because I wasn't believing in myself. A wise woman (my coach) once told me "you need to be able to bet on yourself" and finally I was actually believing and betting on myself. Finally, it was time to start my Mud Hero experience. We all lined up and noticed people of all shapes, sizes, fitness levels, ages, etc. which was absolutely incredible. We were singing, dancing, chanting, throwing our hands in the air...honestly, it almost felt like we were at a bar but we were all sober and about to get an endorphin high. It really made me realize my love of people who get excited to push their limits. Ruth looked at me and asked me to pinky swear that I wouldn't leave her during the event. Our intent as a team was always to stick together but the pink swear sealed the deal. I grew up watching Full House so I know the seriousness of a pinky swear! After 10 or so minutes of getting everyone pumped for the event the countdown was on... 10, 9, 8 ,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!
We started to run. Oh, did I mention that this event takes place on a ski hill? YEAH, we ran up that mother fucking hill...well most of the way up. In my opinion, this was the hardest part of the event. The course map of the event is here however; the course wasn't laid out exactly as expected. The highlights of the obstacles for me were Tipsy Turvy which were full sized adult version teeter-totters that you walk over. These scared the shit out of me but I did them. Another obstacle was the Mud Slide. First, I have to give a huge shout out to Jeff for completing the obstacle. He is terrified of heights and was able to complete this one despite it being high. At the end of the slide was 3 feet of mud and it definitely covered you in mud from head to toe. I don't think you could have went through that obstacle without going under the mud. The next highlighted obstacle was Hero Walls. There were 3 sets of walls with easy, medium and difficult at each set. I was able to do 2/3 of the difficult while the other I did the medium difficulty. The one which I had to go to medium difficulty didn't have an assist bar to help you over. Instead it was a wall that was straight up and down so I had to try and raise my hands way above my head and haul myself up and across. I had to go to the medium difficult which had an assist. It's definitely something I can try and work on for next year. The last highlighted obstacle was one that I was fearful of going on. It's called King Kong. King Kong consists of climbing a wall and then going across netting to another wall to climb down. Amanda had given the team a bit of advice that she had read online to actually roll across the net rather than try and crab walk across it. We used this advice as a team and went through it with a breeze. Another highlight was meeting other people from Fredericton during the event! They mentioned how some of the trails reminded them of running through the UNB Woodlot. Of course, I had to chit chat with them while we were running. On our way to the finish line, there were some spectators who were watching. Ruth asked them if they wanted a hug as she was covered head to toe in mud. One of the ladies opened up her arms and Ruth went in and gave her a big old hug. I'm sure the woman was expecting more like a pat on the back instead of a full on hug. Next time she might think twice about opening her arms. My heart melted near the finish line. There were 4 or 5 kids watching us who asked us for "mud pies" aka a high five with our muddy hands. Of course, our whole team gave these kids "mud pies". I almost felt like a hero to them...a mud hero! I wonder if they will participate in upcoming Mud Hero events. There are actually Mud Hero events for kids as well but I am unsure of the age that they need to be in order to participate.
The end was near, we were finally able to see our Victory Mud Bath which was the final obstacle. Just before the Mud Bath Amanda bear hugged me and swung me around telling me how proud she was of me for not crying (I tend to cry when I set goals and accomplish them). I was equally proud of her and our whole team but was lost for words at the time. Ruth, Jeff and I held hands while we crossed the finish line together. It was over and we collected our medals. The volunteers placing those medals around our necks felt amazing. We were not part of a group of Mud Heros. We could now tell people that we completed the Mud Hero obstacle event. We survived to tell the stories. We rushed over for a quick official picture and then started to wait in lines for showers.
We quickly realized the showers were full and we would be waiting a long time. We decided to use the sprinklers instead. I donated my shoes to Columbia Sportswear shoe donation where they clean them up and donate them to Haiti. Our registration for the event also went towards Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute.
I collected my bag and changed into some dry clothing. We were frozen! There were special areas to change but I didn't realize this until after. Being me, I ended up changing in the parking lot. Honestly, if you think you would be too shy to be in a sports bra this event will change that for you. You're on a natural high and feel so confident after the event that you will feel you can take on the world and people can either watch you or they can join you. I was finally able to check my phone to see all the awesome support from social media. If you are reading this blog, you probably liked the Mud Hero photos I posted this weekend and had sent me good luck wishes. I cannot tell you how much that means to me and I want to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. It can be hard to share everything with social media but by doing it I know I am sending inspiration to someone who needs it and wants it and to me that's worth every single post I do. I received a personal message on my phone from one of my best friends, Amy and that's when I teared up. This girl has been my rock for most of my life. She lives in Ottawa now but distance has never stopped our friendship. To be reading good luck messages from her and her telling me that I was her hero brought the tears to my eyes and down my cheeks. After many pictures and chatting about how proud we were of ourselves and our team we made our way over to the celebration area where we were able to pick up our free beverages. Some of us decided to go alcoholic but I decided to go with water. If I am going to have a treat 9 times out of 10 I'm going to eat my calories and not drink them. After the drinks, we went back to the car and garbage bagged the seats to try and be as clean as possible. We went back to the hotel as clean as we could have gotten ourselves but we were still filthy. Four of us needed to take a shower and get as clean as possible so that took a few hours and you can just imagine the mess. Luckily, we could clean most of it up. We all dressed in our Mud Hero swag and medal to go out for supper! On a side note, all of our skin felt AMAZING. Seriously, mud spas are something that we definitely need to do more often. We joked about adding some top soil and water for a mask and as much as we joked about it I think we were all a bit serious and will do it in the future.
I ended up going for all you can eat sushi at Mizu with Ruth and Evelyne while the others hit up a steak pub. I had an absolutely fantastic supper with the highlight being sushi pizza. The crust was tempura rice. As I said my goodbyes to Ruth and Evelyne we decided our next stop would be Cows ice cream which is something that we cannot get in NB - thank goodness. I would be the #1 customer if it was readily available to me and my treat once a week would end up being a treat every day. I had wowie cowie and chocolate monster. Jeff had mooey gooey and English salted toffee. The others had Moo Henry. On the way to Cows ice cream we actually stopped at the Public Gardens which was full of beautiful flowers (including mulberries - I love seeing the food that I eat growing) and ducks. Two things that definitely make for a happy Steph.
After walking around downtown Halifax we decided to make a quick stop at a grocery store to get some munchies for UFC 200. I took full advantage of the stop to get some healthy grub for Sunday's drive back. I had decided that I had my treats and I was ready to get back on track. Back at the hotel, we determined that we couldn't get pay per view. Amanda, Al and Jeff went searching for a place that was airing the event while I decided to call it a night. Unfortunately, they didn't find a spot.
Sunday morning was a typical pack your shit and get out of the hotel. We stopped at Hockey Life which is an amazing hockey spot and then went to the Mic Mac Mall. I was able to get some workout gear for 70% off at Ardene which was a perfect ending to the trip. On the way back it rained quite a bit and we all napped on and off (except for Jeff. He was driving). The car makes me soooo sleepy! We made it home just in time for my Team call and then a quick workout. Vacation is nice but it's also harder to get back on track if you are not in control of yourself. I know it's a slippery slope for myself and that meant getting back on track on Sunday would set me up for a great coming week.
Our results were top 2,000 (I think we were all around 1,700) out of 7,273 and our time was around 1 hr and 8 minutes which was about 1 minute faster than the average (which I was very pleased with). Some of us I am sure could have crushed that time but this event wasn't about being the fastest or strongest. This event was about helping members of our team as well as members of other people's teams get through the event. I would argue that we had a pretty strong team. We could have ran and pushed ourselves through the crowd but instead we realized that we could be the helping hand for many who needed it. If we saw someone struggling we were there to lend a hand or give words or encouragement. I'm excited to tell all of you that many of our team members have already signed up for Mud Hero 2017 again in Halifax. The registration is only $39 CDN until July 11, 2016 and we are wanting to build our team for next year. Of course, you can register at a later date but the price will increase the longer you wait. Our wave time is scheduled for 11:00 am and we will be called "Mightier Mudders" with our hashtag #mudfordays. If you would like to join us you can register here. I am also planning on hosting an online training group for anyone who is interested but afraid they won't be able to do it. There is a year to prepare and I promise you that you can get into great shape in just a year if you are willing to put the work in.
Never Underestimate the strength of a woman. Never mess with one that runs through mud for fun.
