Last Long Run

22 miles. Longest training run I've ever done. Boom!

This run was everything I wanted it to be. It was challenging in all the right ways and so fulfilling and OMG I LOVE RUNNING!

But let's start at the beginning.

When making my training plan this time around, I decided to incorporate two 20 milers and one 22 miler. I felt like I was in a good place to handle the distance and that this would make me more confident on race day.

I woke up Friday morning ready for my last long run of this training cycle. I knew this run was going to be difficult, but I was also brimming with excitement.

Full of excitement. And wearing my 2011 NYC Marathon Shirt. Obviously. 

I had decided to head out to Alki Beach in West Seattle for my run. I had the 22 miles all planned out, complete with 2 pretty intense hills at miles 1.5-4 and 14-16. As I was driving over, the rain was coming down pretty steady, but as I was pulling in to park, it magically stopped. Call me superstitious  but I knew then it was going to be a good run.

Grey day, but no rain!

Although my legs were pretty lead-like thanks to my run straight up and down Tiger Mountain two days prior, I was trucking along just fine and made it up and down the first hill feeling good.

I was pretty happy with my mile splits and was holding somewhat steady just above 8:30 for most of them. I have to admit, I was somewhat holding back a bit most of the time because I didn't want to burn out too badly before the end. After my last big hill around mile 16, since I was still feeling stellar, I told myself to start picking up my pace a bit. I was hoping to hover right around 8:30s for miles 17-19, and then pick up even more speed between 20-22.

Unfortunately, I think I tried to pick it up a little too early. I hit 8:20 for a few miles, but then started getting really tired. My last two miles were nothing short of challenging. I was reminded of how difficult those final miles of the marathon were last year. The last two miles I was just trying to get through. I kept thinking how much I wanted to walk, but just kept shuffling along. I hope this helps come marathon day!

I finished 22 miles in 3 hours and 14 minutes. Despite how hard those final miles were, I couldn't help but be excited and happy. If I can hold this pace for four more miles, I will have a sub 4 marathon under my belt!

Allison smiles!

I am so excited to rock NYC Marathon I can't stand it! I am well-trained and mentally ready! The next two weeks are taper-time, which is not my forte. My goal is just to keep my legs from getting overly tired. Especially next week. Here we go NYC!

Trail Running Tiger Mountain

I have admittedly gone a little kookoo for cocoa puffs. Or something of the sort!

My friend Jess took me up to Tiger Mountain yesterday for a trail run. She's talked up Tiger a lot to me, and it's the mountain I will be running for my supposed 50k in January. 

As opposed to the other trails I've run, this mountain is no joke. There are three summits and each one kind of just goes straight up and then straight down. 

If I remember correctly, we were on West Tiger for most of our run. We started at a lower parking lot (so we didn't have to have to pay for a special pass) and headed up to the mountains. I really didn't know what to expect. As a newbie trail runner, I always hear talk about "hiking" during runs. I've always thought this was kind of dumb. You're there to run, yes?

Not. Yesterday, I completely understood. After about 2 miles of pretty intense uphill, we literally came to a severe vertical ascent. We started hiking, obviously, because there was NO way to run up. Not only were we hiking, but it was the most difficult hike of my life. My calves were burning, my hips were aching and it was awesome. I really needed some time to get out of my head and focus on something else (pain, haha), so it was perfect. 

Both Jess and I were breathing hard for the 2-3 mile climb. You read that right. 2-3 miles. Insanity. 

The mountain itself was beautiful. It looked a lot like the picture below. Although steep. Very, very steep. I loved being out in the trees and it was a nice change from the other trails I've done as well. The paths were barely visible and I was just surrounded by beauty.

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Couldn't have asked for a better run! Once we hit the summit, Jess said there were two ways back down. One way that was almost straight down that we could do run/walk intervals on, and the other that was more technical, but not as straight down. I opted for the less steep version.

I'm not very comfortable going down trails, yet. I assume it will come with time, but yesterday it was very apparent how slow I am! I am fearful, which definitely holds me back.

This downhill was no joke, either. It may have been easier than the other way descent-wise, but I was struggling the whole time. After about 2 miles, my quads were on fire and I was having trouble concentrating over not tripping on tree roots! I always assume downhill is easier than uphill, but for me, downhill is definitely more challenging. I had no less than 15 close calls, where I either just about slipped on my booty over loose rocks or fell face first over a root.

Although I mentally felt like I could have kept going forever, my legs were ready to call it quits. We ended up doing about 7.2 miles in just under 2 hours. I know that sounds slow, but that direct uphill was epic!

Enough about Tiger Mountain.

CrossFit has been fun this week! I love the camaraderie in our gym. I have found some people who are regulars in all my classes and we cheer each other on like gangbusters to make it more fun!

Tuesday afternoon, we had a "long" workout. During the warmup, our coach went around to everyone and asked them to name a skill. He then turned that into the workout below.

I'm not sure why, but I was totally dunzo after this workout. I must've layed on the floor for 10 minutes after I finished! I absolutely LOVE that feeling!

Last night, after trail running, my legs were pretty wasted. I wasn't sure how Crossfit was going to go, and I ended up taking it a little easy.

Our workout was one I enjoyed. We did a 250 meter row, then sets of box jumps, power snatches and toes to bar, and finished with another 250 meter row.

I like to think I'm getting pretty good at power snatches, and toes to bar are definitely a forte. If I had been fresh-legged, I would have loved to work on a higher box jump, but I took it easy and used a small one. I'm learning to accept that if I'm running like a crazed maniac, I'm not going to make as big of strides at Crossfit, and that is okay with me. I'd rather have a great run!

Things I'm Loving

Last night's CrossFit workout was surprisingly difficult! I was feeling a little sluggish and tired yesterday afternoon and didn't really want to go workout again. It's nice to have friends at Crossfit who keep me accountable, otherwise I totally would have skipped!

Our workout was an AMRAP (as many rounds as possible). We used medium weight kettlebells that we first used to do 2 handed swings. Then we carried them in the racked position (basically up at your chest) across the gym. We used the bar to do 10 toes to bar and then carried the kettlebells back and started again. Swinging and walking the kettlebells wasn't too hard, but after a few rounds, those toes to bar became increasingly difficult! Instead of surrendering to knees to chest on the bar, I powered through with the toes to bar and took breaks when I needed to.

Since it's peak week, I've been running, obviously. Nothing miraculous, just some lovely super early morning running!

I always like to read products that bloggers are loving and using, so I thought I'd make my own list periodically. Here's the first!

Amphipod Cap Light

I was in desperate need of a light to run with. I really didn't want to go with a headlamp as I've heard they kind of just bounce around on your head, and I didn't want to run with a flashlight because I hate having things in my hands while running. I found this little dude on the REI website and decided to go in and get one. It is supposed to clip onto a baseball cap, but since I don't always run with a baseball cap, I wrapped some elastic around it and wear it on my arm. The light isn't insanely bright, but it's helpful for dark mornings when I can't see where I'm stepping!

Quote

A fine line exists between control and flow. We do our best to control our internal and external environment. We manage our time, our work, reputation, money and try to manage other people–with varying degrees of success. We exert control over our bodies by choosing our food or denying it food, rest or even a deep breath. We feel emotions or stuff them down. We’re good at control. In many ways, control is necessary and appropriate but too much of it tightens the mind, harms the body and armors us against the freedom flow that we actually deeply desire. The truth is that much of the time control is impossible and the only way to avoid suffering is to give up the habit of trying to control. 

I found this quote on Peanut Butter Runner's blog and it totally hit home for me. Control is something I struggle to let go of personally and this message is so spot on. Control can be great, but too much is certainly unhealthy. I think control is a way to try and reach perfection for many people,but no one is perfect, so we might as well stop trying!

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Luna Bar

I'm not a huge bar person. I eat them because they are convenient and sometimes when I'm running around at work, it's all I can get in. I am a big fan of Lara Bars usually, but I have a current love affair with this Luna Chocolate Dipped Coconut bar. It tastes just like a macaroon and goes perfectly with coffee! A great sweet treat!

Running Sucks T-Shirt

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My friend Scott, the guy who is training for his first race as a 50k has this shirt and every time I see him wear it, I burst out laughing. Obviously I don't think running sucks. I think the opposite, actually, but I think this shirt is just hilarious. I don't own one, yet, but the time is drawing near!

What are you loving lately? Anything that NEEDS to be added to my list this week???

Weekend Workouts

My weekend consisted mostly of working. Good thing I like my job! Saturday and Sunday I held down the gym for most of the day and Friday, even though I wasn't scheduled, ended up spending several hours at the gym anyways.

I feel so lucky to have a great support and teaching system at my gym. Our most popular aerobics instructor has taken me under his wing and is helping me with not just my classes, but coaching me to teach aerobics as well!

I've mentioned this before, but teaching choreographed classes like step aerobics is very challenging and requires lots of skills. The one I am currently struggling with and scares me the most is cuing. I can't tell you how hard it is to stay on beat, remember what sequence the steps are in and call them out as you go! It's one of those things where it doesn't really get better unless you practice.

So guess what I'm doing?!

Being a huge doof, watching aerobics videos and then practicing the sequences aloud in my apartment. By myself. I win the cool kid award! =D

On top of that, I am working to build my repertoire for my core classes that I already teach. The challenge for me is using props. Our gym has a limited number of things like stability balls, so if I randomly have a big class and there aren't enough for everyone, I have to think quickly on my feet and come up with something else!

Friday I also had a lovely trail run at Discovery Park. I met Jess and Scott there for a loop. We were planning to do the big loop, but Jess forgot her trail shoes and Scott is still struggling to get the small loop done! I did a small loop with them and then another one by myself. It was such a beautiful afternoon and after getting some startling news on Thursday, it was great to be in the woods clearing my head.

That is one thing I just love about running. No matter what is going on in your head, you can run and push yourself and for that hour or so, you are not thinking about your problems. You're just running. And it is magical. Aaaannnddd I'm done being a cheeseball.

Running is beautiful. 

Friday evening, I headed over to Crossfit. Thankfully, our workout was on the mellow side as far as CrossFit goes.

We did a barbell complex. Starting with 4 front squats, 6 military press, 8 bent over row and 10 deadlifts. We added weight after each round. The first time through was fine, second I was starting to feel it and by the third and fourth rounds the military press and the rows just about did me in. We kept the same weight once we started a round, which I though a little odd because leg muscles are so much stronger than upper body, so the squats and deadlifts were no big deal.

As I said, this was pretty mellow. No heavy weight, no crazy time constraints. I'm learning to appreciate these types of workouts. Even just a month ago, I would've been complaining that I didn't get in a good enough workout. I felt sufficiently worked after this one, though, and I'm coming to realize I don't need to feel like I'm dying to have a good workout!

Progress.

Sunday night's workout was NOT as easy. We started with bear crawls. I love bear crawls because I'm good at them (great flexibility helps), but my quads hate them. Then we did 5 rounds of pushups, knees to chest and squats.

We ended with a 600 meter medicine ball run. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE running with "props". Medicine balls, kettle bells, weighted vests. They all are awful! When I run, I want to run!!

Anyways, we finished that and then had to do a 400 meter farmers walk with kettlebells. Not fun either. It ended up being hilarious, though. I had set my kettle bells down for a second and a random dude came and carried them a few meters for me. He ran up, schlepped them off, set them down, and ran off. It was so random!

I had some great runs this weekend, too! Saturday and Monday were easy 4 milers and Sunday I did some 800s. Today starts peak week for me! I have a 22 miler on tap for Friday and lots of other workouts before then!

Long Run High

I was nervous for this 20 miler. After my last, awful 20 miler, I didn't really know what to expect yesterday. I woke up to a gorgeous Seattle morning. It was nice and cool, clear skies and I was hopeful and excited to get 20 miles out of my system. I'm not sure how we got so lucky weather-wise the last month or two, but this Seattle-ite is LOVING it!

As I was standing outside waiting for my Garmin to wake up and smell the satellites, I looked down at my legs and just had to lough out loud. The bruising has only gotten worse the past few days. My knees and upper thighs look like Tanya Harding took a baseball bat to them Nancy Kerrigan-style.

I even mentioned to my classes on Tuesday night not to judge my epic bruises. I am trying to wear them with pride! =D These pictures don't even do them justice, but you're welcome for ugly pictures of my legs!

I thought about driving somewhere to run for a change of scenery, but ultimately decided to just head out from my apartment down the Burke Gilman Trail. I had my Camelbak filled with water, lots of fuel, my cell phone and the excitement of a prized bull!

Unfortunately, as soon as I took off running, my left knee started experiencing a sharp pain. I'd felt a tweak in that knee when I was teaching the night before, but didn't think much of it. Every once in awhile my knees will get sore, and I'll ice them and a few days later they feel great again. And usually, when they hurt while I'm running, it takes about half a mile until they loosen up and the pain goes away.

It wasn't exactly happening like that this particular morning. About .5 miles in, I had to stop because the pain was so sharp. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but it only hurt when I was going downhill. I told myself to get to the bottom of the hill I was on, wait until the road flattened out, and then make the decision of whether or not to reschedule my run.

Luckily, when the road evened-out, my knee felt fine and continued to feel fine the rest of the run. Yiipppeee!!

I haven't really been a big fan of the Burke Gilman Trail here in Seattle. So many people rave about it and love running on it, but I just feel like there are too many people and its just...blach. (wow, way to use my words) Anyways, I discovered that once you get past the University District, the trail is much less populated and has some beautiful woods surrounding it! Almost like trail running, but on a road. Moral of the story: run farther, Allison.

I didn't notice it, but the entire way out I was running slightly uphill. After finding a bathroom 10 miles in (emergency! emergency!), I turned around and headed back the way I came. After holding 8:30-8:50 minute miles thus far, I was excited to be feeling awesome all of a sudden and started hitting some 8 minute miles!

I felt like I was flying! I couldn't believe I felt so great in the middle of a long run and that I was able to turn my legs over and push my pace a little. Usually some of my shorter runs give me the crazy runners high and I feel like running is all puppy dogs and butterflies. Long runs are typically much more challenging, but not this one! Miles 10-16 felt like a breeze! I can only hope I feel this good during the marathon.

By the time I hit mile 18, I was still running with relative ease, but was ready to finish up. As I was running, a girl with her dog cut on to the trail about 10 yards in front of me. I gained on her and just as I was passing, I noticed it was my co-worked Andrea! I was so excited to see her and her dog, Cooper. She provided a much needed distraction and just the boost I needed to finish up two more miles.

I finished a very happy girl! 20 miles of relative ease!

If I can keep this pace during the marathon, I will definitely hit my goal of breaking 4 hours, which will be about 30 minutes faster than last year.

I stopped by the grocery store on my way home to pick up ice and Kombucha, which is becoming my favorite post long run treat. It is so refreshing and I feel like it has some substance in it since I don't always feel like eating right after a long run. The drawback is they are super expensive, so I try to only buy one as a treat.

As usual, I took an ice bath. I can truly say I have them down to a science now. Unfortunately, I didn't have Kali here to keep me company this time, so I was left to dwell on the coooollllddd water all alone. So obviously, I made faces.

One more 22 miler next week before taper time! I've been loving this marathon training cycle, which is probably why I've gotten a little trigger happy and added 2 more marathons to my schedule in the next 7 months. Hopefully NYC Marathon goes as well as I'm hoping!

Marathon Mania and Getting Lost on a Mountain

First things first, here are some Crossfit WODs I've done recently.

We did the AMRAP Monday night. I thought I would be totally out of energy, but that was not the case at all. I whizzed through all 15 minutes of this one. It was tough, though. Lots of people were struggling. I appreciated the sprint at the end. I felt like I got a little speed work out of it!

I did the following workout Friday evening. Beth and I worked out right next to each other and tried to keep our pace in check since we were heading out for a run afterwards.

I liked this workout, and my quads were significantly trashed by the end from all the cleans. Farmers walks are never my favorite, but luckily it was only 200 and 100 meters worth.

Friday night after the workout, Beth, Jess and I headed out to Cougar Mountain with Jess's dog Katie in tow.

Me, Beth and Jess. This pic was not from Friday night.

The plan was to run for about an hour and a half. We had assumed it would be dark by the time we got there and that we would need head lamps and flashlights, but it actually wasn't dark at all! So, being the incredibly smart runners that we are, we headed into the woods without lights of any kind. Safety first! I know, I know. So dumb.

Another fun tidbit that showcases our amazingly smart wit: there had been a bear spotted on the mountain less than 2 hours prior. Someone had kindly attached a note to the trail head stating to be careful. We looked at the note, let Katie off her leash, and headed out on the trail. Gosh, we should really get a stupidity award.

I was hoping if we came across the bear, he would look like this.

The first part of the run was fine except for the fact that I am most certainly #teammorning when it comes to running and my stomach was not a happy camper that I was taking it for a run past its bedtime. After all those medicine ball cleans, my legs were trashed as well, so I was suffering a bit. I think all of us had lead legs because we kept tripping on roots and rocks.

After a particularly graceful stumble by me, we decided to hike for a little bit until we hit a flatter section of trail. It was about this time that all of us started realizing how dark it was getting. Jess, our fearless trail leader, suggested cutting the run a little short. We all quickly agreed. Unfortunately, we were still quite a ways away from the car.

About 20 minutes later it was pitch black and we had no choice but to walk since we could barely see our feet in front of us.

I am not going to sugar coat it. We were all scared. After Katie got away from us and Jess had to run into the forest to get her, we were all talking loudly, telling stories, and trying to keep our spirits up.

At one point, we noticed a weird light behind us. We all turned around and were faced with a full moon so bright it took our breath away. We all thought we were goners. My stomach literally dropped as I thought there was someone with a flashlight right behind who was going to murder us and throw us in the woods!

Thankfully, we made it back to the car. Sufficiently stressed and exhausted! And, we will always carry lights when we go out running in the evening. Lesson learned! =)

I have one more piece of news for this Tuesday morning. I got a little trigger happy and I signed up for another marathon!

The race is called the Pigtails Flat Ass Marathon and it is about an hour away from me. This one is December 15, so I am just using my training from NYC Marathon to carry me over. There is also a 50k going on and I had a fleeting moment of signing up for that, but decided a marathon will be tough enough! I'm not sure if this was the smartest decision, but I'm excited to run nonetheless!

Tough Mudder Recap

What an adventure I've had this weekend! If you remember, in addition to doing the Tough Mudder this weekend, I also did a night run Friday night. I will talk about this tomorrow, but it turned into quite the adventure!

I have been very nervous for the Tough Mudder race. I had numerous hesitations before and after registering, but I've never been one to back down from a physical challenge, so I knew I was going to always go through with it. My main concern was injury. Since the race was little more than a month before the NYC Marathon, I was worried. Especially after hearing numerous stories of sprained ankles or worse. Signing up on a team with a bunch of Crossfit trainers and devoted Crossfit fanatics had me even more apprehensive. Luckily the other two girls, my running buddies Beth and Jess, agreed that none of us needed to be heroes and if we were ever in a situation we didn't think we could get through, we would go around. I knew the running portion wasn't going to be hard, especially with all the trail running I've been doing, but those obstacles had my stomach in knots all week!

Enough about the apprehension!

I woke up bright and early Sunday morning to eat a little something and, most importantly, consume some coffee!! We all carpooled out to Black Diamond, WA. The race was on an old coal mine, which was an interesting experience.

After much inner debate about what to wear, I finally decided to wear as little clothing as possible.  Since I was just going to be getting wet and muddy, I figured the less I had to cart around on my body, the better. I'm still not sure this was the best decision, but I'll explain in a bit.

We arrived at Black Diamond right on time. It was cold. Very, very cold. I was excited when I woke up because it was about 50 degrees outside. By the time we got out to the site, though, it was about 43 degrees. We (well, the girls) were whining and shivering until we started! One of the guys on our team, Paul, got shirts made for us, so we had a bit of team unity to go on. They all said "Level IV Nooners" on the back, because our Crossfit gym is called Level IV and most of the team goes to the noon class. Haha, it works!

Taken after the race, so I was a shivering mess!

We all got our race bibs, and the volunteers tried to mark our heads with our bib #'s with sharpies! Um, no thank you! I told them to put it on my arm and that they could disqualify me if they wanted to! 

Interjection: Obviously, I couldn't bring a camera into the mire with me, so this post is going to be heavy on the wording!

Beth, Me, Paul, Scott, Jess, Matt and Torrin. Somehow we lost Jeff in this picture.

To even get inside our "corral" we had to get over a wooden wall. Our first bout of teamwork began before the race even started! Luckily we all got over fine, they played the national anthem and we took off. We kept our pace nice and slow and soon we were at our first obstacle. 

Basically we just had to "military crawl" through mud and under barbed wire. It was rough getting down on the ground in the first place, but with so many people crowding in behind you, there really wasn't an option to hesitate! This was the first good banging that my elbows and knees got. Crawling across rocks, with only your elbows and knees to push yourself was painful! Little did I know what was next.

The second obstacle was what they call the "Arctic Enema". Most of us were really worried about our muscles seizing up so soon in the race. I would like to say it wasn't that bad, but that would be a lie. 

You first crawl in on one side and then have to dunk under to get to the other side and crawl out. Getting in wasn't so bad. Going completely under the water was SHOCKING! It literally took my breath away. Trying to remember how awful I felt after that is slightly comical, because now I am downplaying how miserable this obstacle was in my head. This guy on the right feels the same way I did:

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After the Arctic Enema, things were a bit of a blur for awhile. There was a little running, although I don't think the 12 miles they tout the race as is accurate. I felt like we did closer to 6 miles. They can't be off by that much, though, right?!

Anyway, we came across lots of other obstacles. Most of them were challenging, but forgettable. I was VERY lucky to have a great team with some super strong dudes who helped me over walls and up huge mud banks. I was pretty much soaking wet after the first obstacle until we finished, and when the obstacles were in the woods or in shaded areas, I was freezing! Luckily, we got out in some sunshine, too!

Some of the obstacles I remember:

Monkey bars/Rings: Both of these obstacles you had to do over a big pit of water. Most of us fell in and had to swim to the other side. Luckily, the water was not nearly as cold as the Arctic Enema, which I was so thankful for. On another note, how the heck did I do the monkey bars for hours when I was little?! Those are hard! 

Piggyback: This one was fun because we got to give eachother piggy back rides. My partner had me jump on his back first and took off. At the midpoint when we switched and I had to carry him, everyone passed us as I struggled to keep up! By the end, I was laughing so hard I could barely breath!

Spiderweb: Just what it sounds like. It was a giant spiderweb of ropes that we had to climb up, over and down. We had to work as a team to hold down the web or else you couldn't climb it. The only really scary part of this one was when you got to the top and looked down. It was so high!

Wood Carry: This was so bizarre. It wasn't really an obstacle, more of a challenge. We just had to pick up a big piece of wood each, and carry it down the course for awhile. It was hard, but nothing we Crossfitters couldn't handle!

Halfpipe: Near the end, we were faced with a huge wall that had a running start on the bottom. Luckily, one of our guys got up there and we all made it up with his help afterwards. One of the "helpers" at the top told me we were one of 4 other girls who had managed to get over! Beth, Jess and I were worried about this one, but it really wasn't hard at all with the boys' help.

Military Crawls: There was so much crawling on rocks and gravel during the race. My knees and elbows took a severe beating, and this was the only time I wished that I had worn pants and long sleeves.

Electroshock Therapy: This obstacle was utterly ridiculous and, in my opinion, completely unnecessary. The first time we encountered the shocks, which were basically dangling wires, we had to military crawl on our elbows and knees under barbed wire through them. I can't begin to explain how it felt getting shocked. It's awful. It kind of hits you and reverberates throughout your whole body. Getting through it once was enough. The final obstacle, however, was another bout with the shocks. As a team, we had to run through muddy water with the shocks dangling down from above. 

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Again, so painful. After I got through it (thank goodness), I turned around and Beth was on the ground! She had apparently passed out from a shock and was so disoriented. We got her up and we all finished, but it was scary and definitely made my heart skip a beat! Thankfully she was fine, if not a little shaken up. This is why I think the shocks were either unnecessary or the voltage needed to be turned down. There were other people who had fallen and had trouble getting through. Of course, while they were laying there unconscious, they keep getting shocked because they are laying in muddy water that other people are charging through. Not safe.

We all finished in good spirits, minus Beth's scary spill on the last obstacle. Yay Level IV Nooners!

Beth and I. Total bad-ass's.

This was definitely a fun bonding event and I am so glad I did it! I got to hang out with a great bunch of people in a fun, supportive atmosphere. Expect for the ice water plunge and the electroshock therapy, I enjoyed a lot of the obstacles and they were a nice break from just running.

I'm not sure I ever need to do it again, however!

Jess, Beth and I afterwards. My favorite running buddies!

They call this race "The Toughest Event on the Planet". I'm not so sure about that as my marathon last year was much tougher, but this was certainly the most stressful event! We were talking in the car ride back about how tired we were and figured it was because of the stress of the morning; not knowing which obstacle was going to be next!

I'm sporting all sorts of cuts and bruises, especially around my knees and elbows. You're welcome for the picture! Thank goodness I didn't come away with any injuries! I consider that a win! And now, I am an official Tough Mudder! Grrrr!!!