Day 232 - Mud

Today I drove to the Dirty Girl Mud Run hosted in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. That's about 140 miles away from my home. Did I mention, it rained so hard while I was driving that I could hardly see four feet in front of my car? I was afraid and thought about turning around to go home. Yes, the weather was that bad! I pushed through the storm, and safely arrived to my destination courtesy of my Tom Tom just as the rain turned to barely a sprinkle. By the time I made it to the nearest port-a-potty, this is what I saw over the parking lot. Beautiful.



The closer I got to the event starting line, I saw signs such as...



and...



After I picked up my registration packet and bib, I saw the starting gate corral, filled with plenty of girls just waiting to get dirty.



It wasn't long before my gear was checked, and I headed to the starting line. I immediately introduced myself as Lynn, and started up a conversation with some fellow "Mudders". We worked our way through the first obstacle, the "Barn Burner" below, and then all the sudden my new friends started calling me Jill. At first I let it go. But three obstacles and tons of cheering on later, I finally said, "I'm sorry, but my name is Lynn, not Jill". And that's when they pointed out my bib said I was "Jill Patty". I have no idea who this girl Jill was, or how I got her bib, but I did feel sorry for her at that moment as I am sure not having a bib waiting for her at the registration tent made for an eventful morning for her! Poor Jill.



As the event continued, I got muddier by the moment. Obstacles like the water and mud pit below didn't help, but sure were fun!



My biggest fear of the course was conquering the wall climb. Since the wall came in 2, 4, 6 and 8 foot sections, I joked that I would take on the 2ft section and just jump over it. Once I was actually face to face with the beast, I challenged myself and climbed over the 6ft section instead. Maybe next year I will conquer the 8ft section.



The wall climb was a breeze compared to the second to last obstacle which was the cargo net climb! I confidently made my way up the net, and then froze once I reached the top! I felt like cat stuck in a tree! Thank goodness for great moral support and girl power, since two complete strangers started talking me down from the top. "Focus on me, don't look down", I heard one say. Another said, "OK, swing your leg over, you got this!", and the encouragement continued until I was safely off of the net. I thanked them, and God profusely for helping me tackle this two- story challenge.



After one last water obstacle, I was done! I completed my first 5K mud run!



As I headed to the "showers", I saw this fun sign...



This is me, post race and loaded with mud.



Oh, this photo doesn't include my shoes or legs, but the one below does!



Needless to say, I didn't feel the need to keep my water logged and mud laden shoes, so they ended up here...



I can't wait until next year's mud run, it was so much fun!