Jim Is One Tough Mudder!

On October 6th, 2012 (yes... this was Conference Weekend... doh!) Jim ran in a mud run called the Tough Mudder. Jim has recorded his thoughts on the whole experience, so I'll let him tell it in his own words, but suffice it to say that after all this he really is ONE TOUGH MUDDER!! 

The run was in (or near, anyway) Austin, TX so the night before, we drove the family out there and stayed in a hotel (so graciously paid for by our dear friend Wendy... who was also running with Jim). The girls LOVED getting to stay in a hotel. Jim went out with his team for a last hoorah before the big day, so the girls and I ordered pizza and partied in the room. Actually it was late enough that we just ended up crashing as soon as we were done eating. :) We party hard. :) 

A freak cold front had moved through as well. We had only brought warm weather clothes with us and the cold was biting! So the morning of the race, after Jim left, I took the kids to a nearby Target and we bought some jackets and beanies. :) Then we were off to support Daddy and cheer him on in the mud. We were so proud of him. He absolutely rocked the course. But enough from me... here's Jim's account of it all! (And I'll do pictures in another post.)

My Tough Mudder Experience.

            I can remember going to a camporee at Baldwin Park when I was in Boy Scouts.  Some awesome leaders had taken the time to set up a great obstacle course.  It had a wall to jump over, a pipe to crawl through, a balance beam, and jump rope section, and some stacked tires to jump over.  I remember getting the best time out of all the scouts there and winning the event.  My love for obstacle courses has always been ever present.  When there is a physical challenge I’m eager to try it. 

         Back in February of this year (2012) a dear friend of mine, Dave Frey (pronounced “Fry”), sent me a link to a web site called Tough Mudder.  I had never heard of it.  Little did I know what it was all about.  A 10 to 12 mile course with 18 to 28 obstacles that was designed by British Navy Seals to help people overcome their fear of heights, claustrophobia, and electric shocks, among other things.  I was reluctant to agree, but after I asked my workout partner Dack VanOrden if he wanted to do it, he thought it would be awesome and loved the idea so I succumbed to peer pressure and started training in March. 

Seven months later after loosing over 25 pounds (from running so much) and preparing for the monumental experience it was finally here. We checked in our bags, wrote our numbers on our arms for identification purposes—in case we died—and gave them our signed death waiver, (you thought I was kidding about the dying part huh) then applied sunscreen and went to the starting area.  There was an awesome feeling of excitement in the air.  So many people had been training hard for this moment.  The man with the mic honored our military and we all listened to our National Anthem play.  You would have thought it was the Olympics because my eyes were getting very misty.  Then they started playing Rocky Music, as everyone jumped up and down.  After a few yells, he blew the whistle and we were off.  It wasn’t like anyone started sprinting, but the first mile or so was like walking on a cloud.  Packed full of adrenaline I didn’t feel much.

 Obstacle 1) – Kiss of Mud, Crawling on your belly under barbed wire about a foot and a half off the ground, it was already time to get dirty, but the mud was somewhat hard there so I really didn’t get that dirty. 

Obstacle 2) Artic Enema – Now this one was a little tougher.  You crawl on your belly under more wire and can either go in feet first or just slide right in.  I choose to slide right into freezing cold water.  They dump 1000’s of pounds of ice in a huge pit and to make it worse put a wall in the middle you must go under.  I was breathing so hard and deep by the time I got to the wall I couldn’t catch my breath to go under it.  After calming down just enough I went under.  I got out of there fairly quickly and was glad that one was over.

 Obstacle 3) Dirty Ballerina – A series of trenches full of muddy water.  The signs however said “Jump Over” Looking at the jump it was only about 6 to 7 feet across so I figured I could jump it.  Sure enough I made about 7 or 8 jumps and I got through that one with still very little mud on me.

Obstacle 4) – Cliff Hanger.  Some people were told to go to the backside of this hill other had to use ropes on the other side.  I just ran up it and didn’t think it was that big of an obstacle. 

Obstacle 5) – Walk the Plank.  This was probably one of my favorites.  It was about a 15 to 20 foot jump into the water.  There were lifeguards on both sides of the landing areas in the water.  Someone with a megaphone that said, if you don’t know how to swim today is not the day to learn.  Wendy went first, Then Dave, Dack was a little scared of this one so I figured I’d show him there was nothing to be afraid of.  I made sure Dave was out of the way and Dave yelled and said “Let’s see it” I pulled off a full gainer from that height.  When I came up it was to the sound of applause and the lifeguard looked at me with a big smile and said, “That was nice”.  I grabbed the big ropes to help me out of the water and we ran to the next obstacle

Obstacle 6) – Berlin Walls #1 – There were only Two or three sets of walls.  I helped my entire team over the walls but I just jumped and grabbed the top of the wall and pulled myself right up and over.  I wasn’t sure how hard a time I would have with this obstacle but it proved to be pretty easy.

Obstacle 7) – Log Jammin – Basically you went over some logs and under others.  Over and under for about 60 feet.  Wasn’t hard at all.

Obstacle 8) – Trench Warfare.  You crawl on your hands and knees into the darkness then take a curve and it starts getting light again and you could see the other end.  Phrases like “Get some” and “Medic” were yelled in this obstacle. 

Obstacle 9) – King of the Mountain – Round Hay Bails stacked on there ends built like the pyramids of Egypt.   The people going over it looked like ants crawling on their ant mound.  It was a pretty fun one.  I didn’t get as ichy as I thought, must have been the red neck in me, just used to it I guess.

Obstacle 10) Spiders Web - was only about ¼ mile away from King of the Mountain and you just had to crawl up a cargo net while other teammates and fellow mudders held the net for you as you went up and over.  Someone actually fell on this and we heard the thud but he was okay. 

By this time we had almost reached mile 7.  There was more running through mud and then we came to:

Obstacle 11) Kiss of Mud #2 – Same thing as the first one.  Wasn’t hard but this one was way muddier. Dack just sat down in the mud after that one like a little kid, it was funny.

Obstacle 12) This was the only one that I truly needed help with and without help would have taken me a long time to do.  It was the Boa Constrictor.  You slide down a corrugated pipe on the inside it’s slick and you are headed down at a 45 degree angle you have just a little sun light coming out of the bottom of the pipe so you must hold your breath in this claustrophobic pipe to get out.  No problem with that…but then you had to go back up another pipe just like it at that same angle, you are wet, muddy, slick and I couldn’t get up it.  I slide back down the pipe and told they guys behind me I will need a push from the bottom.  They said okay and they did but I’m kind of heavy so it was kind of hard for them.  Wendy was using her hand outstretched out for me but I couldn’t grab it.  Dack then grabbed her legs and lowered her down further and once we locked hands Dack pulled and I was sucked out of there like piece of strawberry through a straw.  The next obstacle would prove to be by far the toughest. 

Obstacle 13) – Electric Eel – A series of wires hanging down that shock the fire out of you.  When one person gets shocked because you are in 3 inches of water everyone feels it too.  You can hear the screams of people as we approached this obstacle.  It made your heart sink knowing you must pass through this pain too, and to think I paid money for this!!! Wendy went first and I followed after.  The first shock was pretty hard and I yelled.  Then another, then another, then another.  I was only about a 1/3 of the way through and thought screw this I’m just getting out of here as fast as I can.  I had remembered what Dave Fry said, when you go through it’s almost best if you just constantly yell and when the shock comes you are already yelling.  So I bolted with a yell making my way as fast as I could getting pelted with hard shocks to my shoulders back and legs.  The batteries must have had a full charge because those shocks HURT!  As I neared the end I grabbed the 2 X 4 that was about 18 inches off the ground and pulled myself right up and over and OUT of that shock pool.  It did affect my nervous system because when I was done my anus was killing me.  It felt like most of the shock went there, maybe it was from tightening up so fast or I don’t know what.  I did black out twice on that one.  I know I was yelling hard and was fully aware but then I woke up twice because I wasn’t yelling anymore.  That’s how I knew I had blacked out but it was just for less than a second.  After that obstacle I didn’t want anymore of the shocks!!!

Obstacle 14) Just the tip – It was a wall that you had to scale like a rock wall by just using the tips of your fingers to hold on.  I was tall enough however to reach the top and just work my way down.  If you fell in the water it was a pink dye.  I didn’t fall.  It looked narley. 

Obstacle 15) Dark Lightening – More shocks.  I was like no way.  I didn’t want to go in there after what I had experienced with the Electric Eel.  Hear again Wendy went first and Dack was right beside me.  Everyone was moving so slow and very cautious to not hit the yellow wires hanging from the top of this contraption.  We were sliding ourselves on a large piece of black plastic.  Inching our way along. I stayed so low and I never once got popped however I did hear a few other guys yell a couple of times.  I thought to myself.  Mmmm. I know how that feels.

Obstacle 16) We were almost to mile 9 and Mud mile was not a mile but it was many hills of mud sliding into Mud, like a Hershey’s Chocolate kind of mud, thick and easy to float in.  Over one hill, down the next, over one down the next.  The walking surface on the bottom was not that straight either so sometimes there would be a big hole and you would just sink other times you would just fall over.  This obstacle proved hard for Dave but it was by far the muddiest of them all.  I liked it though.  I wish they would have had a water station after it to get some of mud out of my eyes but that was coming with the next obstacle.

Obstacle 17) – Underwater tunnels – You basically just bobbed up and down under some floating barrels, it was a nice break to get cleaned up after so much mud!!!

Obstacle 18) – Hold your wood – You basically pick up some logs and carry them either big ones with your teammates of shorter ones by yourself.  You walk up and down small hills over and over around what you would envision a motorbike track to be.  In fact that’s what this place was anyway.

Obstacle 19) - Funky Monkey.  Almost to mile 10 – I really like this one.  I took off my gloves and put them in my pockets.  The guy in front of me went and said hey these have grease on them.  They sure did not only were the bars metal but they were greased making it harder to stay on.  I had trained on some pretty slick bars anyway and made it up and down just fine I even stopped on the downward portion quite a bit just hanging there.  Dave and Wendy unfortunately fell off but Dack and I made it through without falling in the murky water.

Obstacle 20) Berlin Walls #2 – These walls were higher than the first ones these were closer to ten feet tall.  Same story though.  I would just jump and grab the top pull myself right up and over the walls.  We had two or three to go over but it wasn’t a problem.

After completing mile 11 we only had two more obstacles and one more mile.  My right knee had been hurting for about the last 4 miles but would go away if I just gave it a rest so I was thankful to my team for slowing down for me and was actually grateful for the obstacles as well. 

Obstacle 21) Everest – A huge half pipe that you have to run up and most people needed a hand and some help to get to the top.  I enjoyed helping my teammates and others as well but I didn’t need any help with this particular one.  I was pretty much even with the top of the half pipe and just grabbed the 2 x 4 there and pulled myself up. It wasn’t that hard but it was pretty fun.

Obstacle 22) – Electroshock Thearpy.  The grand finale.  After this obstacle the finish is only about 50 more meters.  Dack and Wendy went bolting through first and I followed with Dave.  As we ran about ¾ of the way through, Wendy went down, and rather than picking her up and helping I just continued on.  I was so worried about myself and getting shocked that I wanted out of there.  Looking back I should have stopped and helped pick her up but being worried for my own skin I didn’t.  I thought I would be the man to jump on the grenade if I knew many others would die to save them but now I don’t know.  If I ever do it again I WILL help those that fall around me. 

              That was the last obstacle we were through.  I said to my team, come here and held Wendy and Dack’s hand and Dack held Dave’s as we raised them all up and crossed the finish line.  We were then given our signature Orange Head Bands that you can only get by participating in the race, and lined up for the goodies, while most people were grabbing the Dos Equis beer, we were grabbing Bic razors, protein powder, our Tough Mudder shirts, and other freebies.  We went to a huge community shower and just hosed off with some water hoses and washed off all the mud.  Then with my wife and kids we walked out of there and I had to throw away my shoes the sole was coming off and I was grateful it didn’t during the race. 

                 The race was a lot like life, some obstacles easy, some hard, some you are excited for, some you are scared to death of.  When we sin we get spiritually dirty and repentance is the washing off of that mud and dirt.  You can’t imagine how many times we got muddy then walked through a pond and washed off, got muddy again and repeated this process over and over.  Dave said the journey for him was just as much spiritual as it was physical.  It was an experience I will always remember and look back on with fond memories and I would do it again.  Maybe in Houston 2013 if my sweet wife wants to do it.  We shall see.