50 meters into the swim
Trying to look like a cyclist
A little running
Courtney and I finish together
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
My first triathlon, the Y Freedom Tri
A few months ago at Crossfit, one of the other guys asked me about
doing a triathlon. The "idea" of doing a triathlon sounded great. But,
while I can swim, I am not a swimmer. I do not own a bicycle, and I am
certainly not a runner. But, the idea was in my head. I mentioned it
to Courtney, my crazy race partner in crime, and she was intrigued
with the idea as well. She started talking to a co-worker who is in a
triathlon club and the wheels were in motion. We learned that there
are many different types of triathlons, sprint, super sprint, olympic,
half Ironman, and full Ironman to name a few. They all start with a
swim, then bike, then run, but they differ in the distances of each. A
full Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run.
Can you imagine, a full marathon after cycling for 112 miles? We were
nowhere near ready for that, so we started looking for a sprint
triathlon. I found one that is being held in August, which would give us a little
time to train. But Courtney had the itch and wanted to do one a little
sooner. She found one called the Y Freedom Tri. It was close to home,
and made up of manageable distances. It started with a 300 meter pool
swim, followed by an 11 mile bike, and finished with a 3 mile run. All
of those distances sounded doable. For me, the only slight problem was
the date of the race. It was being held the Sunday after I got back
from my family's Disney vacation. Disney vacations are not exactly
training intensive, which is why it is called a vacation. But, I
decided to give it a go and we registered. During the registration process, they asked for my 300 meter swim
time. I had no idea. I am not sure that I have ever swam 300 meters.
So, I just put down 8 minutes. It sounded reasonable. That meant that
I needed to head to the pool to find out my 300 meter time. The
following Saturday, I went to the gym after getting off from work (the
gym has a 25 meter pool). I made the mistake of doing some strength
training before heading to the pool. I jumped in and set off for the
other side. By the time I swam the length of the pool, I thought that
I was going to die. I was huffing and puffing like I had just sprinted
400 meters. It was crazy. This was not a good sign. But, I continued
on and swam 300 meters. Each 25 meter length took me about 30 seconds,
so 8 minutes seemed reasonable. However, after each 25 meters, I had
to stop and rest. I felt like a wounded and dying seal in the water
floundering around just waiting to be eaten. I was expending a ton of
energy and not moving very fast or efficiently. This did not bode
well. So, you would think after that swimming experience, I would swim
more often and try to get a little better at it before race day? I
swam one more time before race day, at our resort at Disney World. It
was a 35 meter pool and as I swam the length, A1 swam the width. This
time it was a little better, but not much. After the swim, I put on
some running shoes and ran two miles to get a feel for doing two
activities back to back. It was not too bad, but running after
swimming is nothing like running after cycling as I would find out on
race day. Two days before we left on our vacation, my tri shorts and tri suit
that I had ordered were delivered. The tri shorts look like
compression cycling shorts. They have a pad in them, but not as thick
as cycling shorts. They are designed to be worn for all three portions
of the triathlon. However, the tri suit is a little different. It is
basically a unitard. I tried it on to make sure it fit, and I did not
think that Jen was going to stop laughing. Maybe I should go with the
shorts for my first race? To do a triathlon, you need a bicycle. It helps for the bike part. I
started talking to my resident cycling guru and great friend, Terry.
He gave me some pointers and was a great sounding board for me. I did
some research and this brought up questions and Terry had the answers.
The first thing that I discovered is that bicycles, road bicycles in
particular, are EXPENSIVE. Since this was for my first triathlon and I
was not sure that I would do another or become an avid cyclist, going
a moderate route seemed prudent. However, I like the idea of cycling
to build endurance since it is easy on your body. Unlike running which
pounds your body. Swimming is also great for endurance, but we saw how
that went. I settled on an entry level road bike and purchased it two
days before the race. So, my cycling training before the race
consisted of three 20 minute bicycle test rides. Courtney did not have
a road bike either and after hearing that I had taken the plunge, went
to the same store and purchased the same bicycle in a smaller size. Race day was quickly approaching and Courtney and I gathered up all of
the little things that we needed for the race. A running belt, swim
cap, goggles, etc... I also read a few articles about the triathlon
transitions. These are the times when you transition from swim to bike
and from bike to run. There are strategies and ways to lay out your
stuff that help the process go smoothly. I learned quite a bit and got
all of my gear loaded up into a backpack. Race day arrived and Courtney and I met in the parking area at 5:45
AM. The swim was scheduled to start at 7. There was a 15 minute walk
to the check in area and we did not want to be rushed. I checked the
air pressure in our bicycle tires, we gathered our stuff, and started
our walk. About half way there, I realized that I had left my water
bottle in the car. So, Courtney took my bike and continued walking and
I headed back for the water bottle. We met back up at the bike check
area. After bike check, it was on to body marking. They wrote my race
number on each arm and my age of the back of my calf in Sharpie. We
found our race numbers in the transition area and began to set up our
area. I was lucky, I had an end spot on the bicycle rack that would
give me a little more room during the transitions. Courtney, was in
the middle of the same row. A friend found us and reminded us that we
needed to get our timing chip. So, we hustled over to the pavilion.
The chip went onto a cloth bracelet that we attached to our left
ankle. Then it was back to the transition area to finish our
preparations before the swim. We walked over to the pool and lined up. Even numbers were on one side
of the pool and odds on the other. We lined up by race number. Our
number was based on the swim time that we gave during registration. In
theory, we should be lined up from fastest swimmer, to slowest. That
way, there should be less congestion in the pool. The pool was 50
meters and had 6 lanes. Every 10 seconds, an even numbered and odd
numbered swimmer took off. You swam up and back in each lane, crossed
under the lane marker, swam up and back and repeated, until you
reached the middle stairs and left the pool. You were supposed to stay
to the right in the lane at all times, unless passing. While waiting
to get into the water, we witnessed numerous head on collisions in the
lanes. It looked a little crazy. It took about 30 minutes for me to
finally get into the water. My swim cap was on and as I pulled my
goggles down, one of the straps came loose. Great. I took off and
water was coming into the goggles, but I felt pretty good for the
first 100 meters. The next 50 meters was a struggle and I decided to
stop and fix my goggles. This took about a minute and was a nice rest.
The next 100 meters were not any better, but I got lucky. The guy in
front of me was very slow and there was a constant stream of swimmers
coming the other direction, so I did not have any room to pass. I
walked part of the last 50 meters. Thankfully, the swim was over. I jogged to my transition area, grabbed my towel, and started drying
off my legs. I had decided to wear socks and got them on without too
much trouble. Then I got the cycling shoes on. Next, I put on my
helmet and sunglasses. Then the iPhone went into the iPhone holder on
the bicycle to track my progress. There is an app for that. I walked
my bicycle past the designated line, clipped into the pedals and was
off. Courtney was about 50 yards ahead of me. She had a good swim, she
just took a little longer in the first transition area than I did. It
was nice, that way we could bike and run together. The first part of
the bike course was great. Fast and flat and downwind, which I did not
realize at the time. Drafting is not allowed in triathlons. So,
Courtney and I traded the lead a few times, but always made sure to
leave plenty of room between us so as not to get penalized. We reached
the first u-turn and that is when I realized that we had been going
downwind. The wind slammed into me and I realized that the rest of the
bike course was not going to be as fast and easy. This was my first
time to actually cycle on a road bike. The saddle (seat) was not very
comfortable. About half way through the course, areas around the
saddle started to go numb. But, I made it through and arrived back at
the transition area. I hopped off the bike, racked it, and put on my running shoes. Then I
tried to jog to the exit. Jogging when your groin area is numb was a
new sensation for me. And not a good one at that. There were two
aid/water stations on the run course that provided a nice little
break. In the middle of the run, I turned to Courtney and said, "give
me a mud run any day of the week." We toughed it out and came to the
finish area. There were quite a few people there cheering on the
finishers. They called out our names and numbers as we crossed the
finish line. That was cool. They had volunteers there to take off the
timing chip, give us water, and a cold wash cloth. It was tough, but
we were done. We had completed out first triathlon. We both finished
in about one hour and twenty-four minutes. My parents had come out to watch and to provide moral support. Thanks
Mom and Dad. Dad got a few good pictures of us racing around. In the
pavilion, they had water, coke, bagels, Muscle Milk, and other
refreshments for us. They also had massage tables and therapists there
for us to take advantage of, which we did not. So, how was it? It was tough. Tougher than I thought it would be.
Especially tough was the swim and the transition from cycling to
running. If I am going to continue to do these, I actually need to
train for them a little bit. Some swimming lessons might be in order.
Since I bought the bicycle, at least the cycling part will happen
which will help my overall endurance. I need to get after it, the next
one is in August.
doing a triathlon. The "idea" of doing a triathlon sounded great. But,
while I can swim, I am not a swimmer. I do not own a bicycle, and I am
certainly not a runner. But, the idea was in my head. I mentioned it
to Courtney, my crazy race partner in crime, and she was intrigued
with the idea as well. She started talking to a co-worker who is in a
triathlon club and the wheels were in motion. We learned that there
are many different types of triathlons, sprint, super sprint, olympic,
half Ironman, and full Ironman to name a few. They all start with a
swim, then bike, then run, but they differ in the distances of each. A
full Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run.
Can you imagine, a full marathon after cycling for 112 miles? We were
nowhere near ready for that, so we started looking for a sprint
triathlon. I found one that is being held in August, which would give us a little
time to train. But Courtney had the itch and wanted to do one a little
sooner. She found one called the Y Freedom Tri. It was close to home,
and made up of manageable distances. It started with a 300 meter pool
swim, followed by an 11 mile bike, and finished with a 3 mile run. All
of those distances sounded doable. For me, the only slight problem was
the date of the race. It was being held the Sunday after I got back
from my family's Disney vacation. Disney vacations are not exactly
training intensive, which is why it is called a vacation. But, I
decided to give it a go and we registered. During the registration process, they asked for my 300 meter swim
time. I had no idea. I am not sure that I have ever swam 300 meters.
So, I just put down 8 minutes. It sounded reasonable. That meant that
I needed to head to the pool to find out my 300 meter time. The
following Saturday, I went to the gym after getting off from work (the
gym has a 25 meter pool). I made the mistake of doing some strength
training before heading to the pool. I jumped in and set off for the
other side. By the time I swam the length of the pool, I thought that
I was going to die. I was huffing and puffing like I had just sprinted
400 meters. It was crazy. This was not a good sign. But, I continued
on and swam 300 meters. Each 25 meter length took me about 30 seconds,
so 8 minutes seemed reasonable. However, after each 25 meters, I had
to stop and rest. I felt like a wounded and dying seal in the water
floundering around just waiting to be eaten. I was expending a ton of
energy and not moving very fast or efficiently. This did not bode
well. So, you would think after that swimming experience, I would swim
more often and try to get a little better at it before race day? I
swam one more time before race day, at our resort at Disney World. It
was a 35 meter pool and as I swam the length, A1 swam the width. This
time it was a little better, but not much. After the swim, I put on
some running shoes and ran two miles to get a feel for doing two
activities back to back. It was not too bad, but running after
swimming is nothing like running after cycling as I would find out on
race day. Two days before we left on our vacation, my tri shorts and tri suit
that I had ordered were delivered. The tri shorts look like
compression cycling shorts. They have a pad in them, but not as thick
as cycling shorts. They are designed to be worn for all three portions
of the triathlon. However, the tri suit is a little different. It is
basically a unitard. I tried it on to make sure it fit, and I did not
think that Jen was going to stop laughing. Maybe I should go with the
shorts for my first race? To do a triathlon, you need a bicycle. It helps for the bike part. I
started talking to my resident cycling guru and great friend, Terry.
He gave me some pointers and was a great sounding board for me. I did
some research and this brought up questions and Terry had the answers.
The first thing that I discovered is that bicycles, road bicycles in
particular, are EXPENSIVE. Since this was for my first triathlon and I
was not sure that I would do another or become an avid cyclist, going
a moderate route seemed prudent. However, I like the idea of cycling
to build endurance since it is easy on your body. Unlike running which
pounds your body. Swimming is also great for endurance, but we saw how
that went. I settled on an entry level road bike and purchased it two
days before the race. So, my cycling training before the race
consisted of three 20 minute bicycle test rides. Courtney did not have
a road bike either and after hearing that I had taken the plunge, went
to the same store and purchased the same bicycle in a smaller size. Race day was quickly approaching and Courtney and I gathered up all of
the little things that we needed for the race. A running belt, swim
cap, goggles, etc... I also read a few articles about the triathlon
transitions. These are the times when you transition from swim to bike
and from bike to run. There are strategies and ways to lay out your
stuff that help the process go smoothly. I learned quite a bit and got
all of my gear loaded up into a backpack. Race day arrived and Courtney and I met in the parking area at 5:45
AM. The swim was scheduled to start at 7. There was a 15 minute walk
to the check in area and we did not want to be rushed. I checked the
air pressure in our bicycle tires, we gathered our stuff, and started
our walk. About half way there, I realized that I had left my water
bottle in the car. So, Courtney took my bike and continued walking and
I headed back for the water bottle. We met back up at the bike check
area. After bike check, it was on to body marking. They wrote my race
number on each arm and my age of the back of my calf in Sharpie. We
found our race numbers in the transition area and began to set up our
area. I was lucky, I had an end spot on the bicycle rack that would
give me a little more room during the transitions. Courtney, was in
the middle of the same row. A friend found us and reminded us that we
needed to get our timing chip. So, we hustled over to the pavilion.
The chip went onto a cloth bracelet that we attached to our left
ankle. Then it was back to the transition area to finish our
preparations before the swim. We walked over to the pool and lined up. Even numbers were on one side
of the pool and odds on the other. We lined up by race number. Our
number was based on the swim time that we gave during registration. In
theory, we should be lined up from fastest swimmer, to slowest. That
way, there should be less congestion in the pool. The pool was 50
meters and had 6 lanes. Every 10 seconds, an even numbered and odd
numbered swimmer took off. You swam up and back in each lane, crossed
under the lane marker, swam up and back and repeated, until you
reached the middle stairs and left the pool. You were supposed to stay
to the right in the lane at all times, unless passing. While waiting
to get into the water, we witnessed numerous head on collisions in the
lanes. It looked a little crazy. It took about 30 minutes for me to
finally get into the water. My swim cap was on and as I pulled my
goggles down, one of the straps came loose. Great. I took off and
water was coming into the goggles, but I felt pretty good for the
first 100 meters. The next 50 meters was a struggle and I decided to
stop and fix my goggles. This took about a minute and was a nice rest.
The next 100 meters were not any better, but I got lucky. The guy in
front of me was very slow and there was a constant stream of swimmers
coming the other direction, so I did not have any room to pass. I
walked part of the last 50 meters. Thankfully, the swim was over. I jogged to my transition area, grabbed my towel, and started drying
off my legs. I had decided to wear socks and got them on without too
much trouble. Then I got the cycling shoes on. Next, I put on my
helmet and sunglasses. Then the iPhone went into the iPhone holder on
the bicycle to track my progress. There is an app for that. I walked
my bicycle past the designated line, clipped into the pedals and was
off. Courtney was about 50 yards ahead of me. She had a good swim, she
just took a little longer in the first transition area than I did. It
was nice, that way we could bike and run together. The first part of
the bike course was great. Fast and flat and downwind, which I did not
realize at the time. Drafting is not allowed in triathlons. So,
Courtney and I traded the lead a few times, but always made sure to
leave plenty of room between us so as not to get penalized. We reached
the first u-turn and that is when I realized that we had been going
downwind. The wind slammed into me and I realized that the rest of the
bike course was not going to be as fast and easy. This was my first
time to actually cycle on a road bike. The saddle (seat) was not very
comfortable. About half way through the course, areas around the
saddle started to go numb. But, I made it through and arrived back at
the transition area. I hopped off the bike, racked it, and put on my running shoes. Then I
tried to jog to the exit. Jogging when your groin area is numb was a
new sensation for me. And not a good one at that. There were two
aid/water stations on the run course that provided a nice little
break. In the middle of the run, I turned to Courtney and said, "give
me a mud run any day of the week." We toughed it out and came to the
finish area. There were quite a few people there cheering on the
finishers. They called out our names and numbers as we crossed the
finish line. That was cool. They had volunteers there to take off the
timing chip, give us water, and a cold wash cloth. It was tough, but
we were done. We had completed out first triathlon. We both finished
in about one hour and twenty-four minutes. My parents had come out to watch and to provide moral support. Thanks
Mom and Dad. Dad got a few good pictures of us racing around. In the
pavilion, they had water, coke, bagels, Muscle Milk, and other
refreshments for us. They also had massage tables and therapists there
for us to take advantage of, which we did not. So, how was it? It was tough. Tougher than I thought it would be.
Especially tough was the swim and the transition from cycling to
running. If I am going to continue to do these, I actually need to
train for them a little bit. Some swimming lessons might be in order.
Since I bought the bicycle, at least the cycling part will happen
which will help my overall endurance. I need to get after it, the next
one is in August.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee
The Blue Angels!
The Mississippi Welcome Center
Breakfast in Beaumont
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Minute Maid panorama
The view from our seats at tonight's Astros game. Not too shabby. This is 11 photos stitched together, all with the iPhone.
The week on patrol, April 11-15, 2011
I had a partner for two nights this week, worked a little over time
with J, and rode the print unit on Friday. Monday night I was by myself. It was very slow in the district. I was
dispatched to one call, a disturbance in government subsidized
housing. It turned out to be baby mama drama. Mama came over to
daddy's apartment and they had an argument. Mama wanted daddy to
participate in the baby's life. Reasonable, but daddy was not
interested. Apparently, daddy was all about making the baby and not
raising the baby. Sad. Daddy actually called us because he thought
that she was going to slash his tires. Daddy was more worried about
his car than his child. A and I rode together on Tuesday. We started the shift by taking 3
tests. It was time to be re-certified for the TLETS and TCIC/NCIC
database searches. It took us about 2 hours to complete the tests. Once we finally left the station, we drove through the parking garage
of B's apartment complex. There have been a few burglary of motor
vehicles in the garage lately and he asked me to drive through at
night when I was bored. Our first call of the night was a disturbance with a cab driver. The
passenger could not pay. He had $11 and the fare was $43. The cabbie
took him to a bank, but the ATM told him that he was overdrawn on his
account. The guy told me that he deposited an $800 check earlier that
day (unemployment benefit). Then he made a "few" purchases and the
last time he checked his balance, it was $150. The guy tried to phone
a friend and got no love, I guess the friend was broke as well. The
cabbie decided to give the guy a day to pay and they exchanged contact
information. The cabbie drove away and the guy decided to try the ATM
one more time. Miracle, the ATM spit out some money. So, he called the
cabbie who came back and got paid. Then the cabbie drove him home for
free. Everybody wins! Our last call was a burglary of residence in progress at an apartment.
The resident said that someone tried to turn the door knob a few
times, tried the window, and then walked off. There was not any
damage. We walked around the complex and did not see any foot traffic
at all. Most likely, it was a drunk guy who just went to the wrong
apartment. I was by myself again on Wednesday and my number came up for a drug
test. This was the first one for me in quite some time. There are a
few different reasons why you might be required to submit to a drug
test. If you are gone for more than 30 days (vacation, military,
injured), a "for cause" test (exhibited behavior that suggest drug
use), or a random test, which was my case. As for work that night, the
other district was busy but we were nice and calm. On Thursday I worked some productivity over time with J. We wrote 10
tickets which included 17 violations. J then went home I was on the
desk for the first half of the shift. There were lots of rumors
swirling around because of the city budget crisis. The mayor told the
chief that he had to cut millions from his budget. The chief came up
with a plan and presented it to the mayor. We have no idea what is in
the plan, but there are rumors. Layoff rumors. I was the print unit on Friday. I checked by on a code 1, assault in
progress at an apartment complex called in by a downstairs neighbor.
She said that there was a lot of banging and yelling upstairs. It
sounded like a fight to the neighbor. I banged on the door and it was
answered by three punk rockers who were "acting stupid" according to
them. One of them was sporting a huge green mohawk. Then I checked by with A. She was on a loud noise call at a club that
we all despise when two lesbians decided to get into a fight right
behind her patrol car. A went to stop the fight and got punched
inadvertently. Then she got on the radio, but did not get her numbers
out and all we heard was a loud disturbance going on. We finally
figured out it was her and everyone raced her way. The club was
letting out and there were hundreds of people in the parking lot. We
got it cleared out and helped her process her three arrests, 2 for
fighting and one for public intoxication. My last call dropped as a home invasion / just occurred. It turned out
that a guy was either lost or drunk or just trying doors. He tried the
front door of a townhouse and when the owner yelled at him through the
door, the guy turned around and walked off. A similar call dropped
nearby with the same suspect description. We searched the area, but
did not find him. That concludes another week on patrol.
with J, and rode the print unit on Friday. Monday night I was by myself. It was very slow in the district. I was
dispatched to one call, a disturbance in government subsidized
housing. It turned out to be baby mama drama. Mama came over to
daddy's apartment and they had an argument. Mama wanted daddy to
participate in the baby's life. Reasonable, but daddy was not
interested. Apparently, daddy was all about making the baby and not
raising the baby. Sad. Daddy actually called us because he thought
that she was going to slash his tires. Daddy was more worried about
his car than his child. A and I rode together on Tuesday. We started the shift by taking 3
tests. It was time to be re-certified for the TLETS and TCIC/NCIC
database searches. It took us about 2 hours to complete the tests. Once we finally left the station, we drove through the parking garage
of B's apartment complex. There have been a few burglary of motor
vehicles in the garage lately and he asked me to drive through at
night when I was bored. Our first call of the night was a disturbance with a cab driver. The
passenger could not pay. He had $11 and the fare was $43. The cabbie
took him to a bank, but the ATM told him that he was overdrawn on his
account. The guy told me that he deposited an $800 check earlier that
day (unemployment benefit). Then he made a "few" purchases and the
last time he checked his balance, it was $150. The guy tried to phone
a friend and got no love, I guess the friend was broke as well. The
cabbie decided to give the guy a day to pay and they exchanged contact
information. The cabbie drove away and the guy decided to try the ATM
one more time. Miracle, the ATM spit out some money. So, he called the
cabbie who came back and got paid. Then the cabbie drove him home for
free. Everybody wins! Our last call was a burglary of residence in progress at an apartment.
The resident said that someone tried to turn the door knob a few
times, tried the window, and then walked off. There was not any
damage. We walked around the complex and did not see any foot traffic
at all. Most likely, it was a drunk guy who just went to the wrong
apartment. I was by myself again on Wednesday and my number came up for a drug
test. This was the first one for me in quite some time. There are a
few different reasons why you might be required to submit to a drug
test. If you are gone for more than 30 days (vacation, military,
injured), a "for cause" test (exhibited behavior that suggest drug
use), or a random test, which was my case. As for work that night, the
other district was busy but we were nice and calm. On Thursday I worked some productivity over time with J. We wrote 10
tickets which included 17 violations. J then went home I was on the
desk for the first half of the shift. There were lots of rumors
swirling around because of the city budget crisis. The mayor told the
chief that he had to cut millions from his budget. The chief came up
with a plan and presented it to the mayor. We have no idea what is in
the plan, but there are rumors. Layoff rumors. I was the print unit on Friday. I checked by on a code 1, assault in
progress at an apartment complex called in by a downstairs neighbor.
She said that there was a lot of banging and yelling upstairs. It
sounded like a fight to the neighbor. I banged on the door and it was
answered by three punk rockers who were "acting stupid" according to
them. One of them was sporting a huge green mohawk. Then I checked by with A. She was on a loud noise call at a club that
we all despise when two lesbians decided to get into a fight right
behind her patrol car. A went to stop the fight and got punched
inadvertently. Then she got on the radio, but did not get her numbers
out and all we heard was a loud disturbance going on. We finally
figured out it was her and everyone raced her way. The club was
letting out and there were hundreds of people in the parking lot. We
got it cleared out and helped her process her three arrests, 2 for
fighting and one for public intoxication. My last call dropped as a home invasion / just occurred. It turned out
that a guy was either lost or drunk or just trying doors. He tried the
front door of a townhouse and when the owner yelled at him through the
door, the guy turned around and walked off. A similar call dropped
nearby with the same suspect description. We searched the area, but
did not find him. That concludes another week on patrol.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Original Mud Run more pictures
The slick mud slide
Gorilla Ropes
Cannonball!
We are in there somewhere
Post race
The Original Mud Run pictures
A pre-race frog stretch
Coming out of the first low crawl
Trying to get the mud out of my eyes
Photo op after the 8 foot wall
The splash down
The Original Mud Run
This past Saturday, Courtney and I ran in another mud run. This one
was called the Original Mud Run. It took place at the Sam Houston
Raceway Park, which is a horse racing facility. The race was 10
kilometers and had 25-30 obstacles along the route. We were scheduled
to start at 11 AM. I did not want to be late like we were for the
Boondock Battle when we got stuck behind the Model T parade. We met
Courtney, Mike, and Sydney at the movie theater and caravanned to the
track. There was very little traffic and we arrived nice and early. We had elected to get our race packets mailed to us, so all we had to
do was affix the timing chip to one of our shoes and attach the wrist
band. We got our race t-shirt and had plenty of time to stretch. 5
Hour Energy was one of the event sponsors and they had people walking
around handing them out to everyone. I do not think that any of us had
tried one before. Mine tasted fine, but Courtney and Jen were not
impressed. In fact, they did not like it at all. A short time later,
my parents arrived to provide some much appreciated moral support and
to watch us play in the mud. They gave out the 15 minute call for our start time and we headed over
to the starting area. The starting area was close to the Raceway
complex. We waited the fifteen minutes and then got the countdown to
the start, 10, 9, 8, etc... The horn blew, and we could not move.
Apparently they decided to split our group in half, so we had to wait
another 10 minutes until our start. They had said that the course will
start off with a long run to spread everyone out so that there are not
lines at the obstacles. Once we were running, the course turned to the
left, straight towards the area where the horses are kept. We ran
through the stables and paddocks, and then right out onto the actual
sandy horse track. The course took us down the front stretch in front
of the grandstands. At the end of the grandstands was the first water
station, so we were already one mile into the race. The course left the horse track, went through the parking lot, and
crossed a bridge into a wooded area. The course then turned to the
north and it looked like our first obstacle would be a large climbing
wall. But no, the course made a u-turn and we found our first
obstacle, the low crawl. They wanted to get you dirty and wet in a
hurry. They had strung a net about a foot above the water line across
a shallow mud and water pit. This forced you to army crawl through the
muck. Between the person in front of me sloshing mud everywhere and
the low net, by the time I was out, my face was covered with mud. The
second water station was immediately after, and Courtney was kind
enough to pour water on my face to wash some of the dirt away from my
eyes. Then we were running again toward the next obstacle. I actually
do not remember what the second obstacle was and it is not my
intention to list them all, so here are a few highlights. There was a mud hill early on that was just about impossible to climb
up without a little bit of help. I pushed the guy in front of me to
the top and he reciprocated by helping me out a little. Once I was at
the top, I reached down and helped Courtney pull herself up. Then I
noticed a group of 8 girls sloshing toward the hill. There was no way
they were getting up the hill without some assistance. So, I stayed
where I was and pulled them all up the hill. After the girls, I helped
one more guy and figured that I had done my part. I slid down the
other side and caught up with Courtney. There were two large mud slides among the obstacles. One of them was
covered with plastic sheeting and had a water source. The other was
just coated with slick mud. Both of them ended in a muddy pit. The
course then turned into a heavily wooded area and there were quite a
few hurdles along the trail. There was a rope swing, another low
crawl, and a rope bridge. The rope bridge was about 15 yards and had
one rope for your feet and another rope above you head suspended over
water. After the bridge was the cargo net. Straight up 20 feet, over
the top, and down on an angle. Toward the end was my favorite obstacle, the Gorilla Ropes. Twenty
five feet of monkey bars made out of rope suspended over water. For
some reason, I am good at the monkey bars. Maybe because I had lots of
practice on the playground in elementary school. The leap of faith
followed the Gorilla Ropes. It was a platform suspended 9 feet above
the muddy water line. My dad told me to do a cannonball so that I
would not sink as far down. So, I did a cannonball and still hit the
bottom. At least I did not lodge myself in the muck by jumping
straight down. I would guess the pit was about 8 feet deep. A couple
more obstacles and a mile jog and we were done. We took a few "after" photos. They had plenty of water and 5 Hour
Energy for us at the finish line. Our times were posted quickly and we
finished in 95 minutes. Not fast, but respectable, the average time
was about 2 hours. Three firemen and a pumper truck hosed us off. It
is amazing where the mud ends up. Literally everywhere. The runners
were provided a Chick-fil-a sandwich and 2 mini Budweiser beers. I had
a great time. My only problem, which was shared by probably everyone,
was debris in my shoes. The sediment built up under my feet and that
made running a little more uncomfortable then normal. But, I am
definitely looking forward to the next mud run, which is in early
July.
was called the Original Mud Run. It took place at the Sam Houston
Raceway Park, which is a horse racing facility. The race was 10
kilometers and had 25-30 obstacles along the route. We were scheduled
to start at 11 AM. I did not want to be late like we were for the
Boondock Battle when we got stuck behind the Model T parade. We met
Courtney, Mike, and Sydney at the movie theater and caravanned to the
track. There was very little traffic and we arrived nice and early. We had elected to get our race packets mailed to us, so all we had to
do was affix the timing chip to one of our shoes and attach the wrist
band. We got our race t-shirt and had plenty of time to stretch. 5
Hour Energy was one of the event sponsors and they had people walking
around handing them out to everyone. I do not think that any of us had
tried one before. Mine tasted fine, but Courtney and Jen were not
impressed. In fact, they did not like it at all. A short time later,
my parents arrived to provide some much appreciated moral support and
to watch us play in the mud. They gave out the 15 minute call for our start time and we headed over
to the starting area. The starting area was close to the Raceway
complex. We waited the fifteen minutes and then got the countdown to
the start, 10, 9, 8, etc... The horn blew, and we could not move.
Apparently they decided to split our group in half, so we had to wait
another 10 minutes until our start. They had said that the course will
start off with a long run to spread everyone out so that there are not
lines at the obstacles. Once we were running, the course turned to the
left, straight towards the area where the horses are kept. We ran
through the stables and paddocks, and then right out onto the actual
sandy horse track. The course took us down the front stretch in front
of the grandstands. At the end of the grandstands was the first water
station, so we were already one mile into the race. The course left the horse track, went through the parking lot, and
crossed a bridge into a wooded area. The course then turned to the
north and it looked like our first obstacle would be a large climbing
wall. But no, the course made a u-turn and we found our first
obstacle, the low crawl. They wanted to get you dirty and wet in a
hurry. They had strung a net about a foot above the water line across
a shallow mud and water pit. This forced you to army crawl through the
muck. Between the person in front of me sloshing mud everywhere and
the low net, by the time I was out, my face was covered with mud. The
second water station was immediately after, and Courtney was kind
enough to pour water on my face to wash some of the dirt away from my
eyes. Then we were running again toward the next obstacle. I actually
do not remember what the second obstacle was and it is not my
intention to list them all, so here are a few highlights. There was a mud hill early on that was just about impossible to climb
up without a little bit of help. I pushed the guy in front of me to
the top and he reciprocated by helping me out a little. Once I was at
the top, I reached down and helped Courtney pull herself up. Then I
noticed a group of 8 girls sloshing toward the hill. There was no way
they were getting up the hill without some assistance. So, I stayed
where I was and pulled them all up the hill. After the girls, I helped
one more guy and figured that I had done my part. I slid down the
other side and caught up with Courtney. There were two large mud slides among the obstacles. One of them was
covered with plastic sheeting and had a water source. The other was
just coated with slick mud. Both of them ended in a muddy pit. The
course then turned into a heavily wooded area and there were quite a
few hurdles along the trail. There was a rope swing, another low
crawl, and a rope bridge. The rope bridge was about 15 yards and had
one rope for your feet and another rope above you head suspended over
water. After the bridge was the cargo net. Straight up 20 feet, over
the top, and down on an angle. Toward the end was my favorite obstacle, the Gorilla Ropes. Twenty
five feet of monkey bars made out of rope suspended over water. For
some reason, I am good at the monkey bars. Maybe because I had lots of
practice on the playground in elementary school. The leap of faith
followed the Gorilla Ropes. It was a platform suspended 9 feet above
the muddy water line. My dad told me to do a cannonball so that I
would not sink as far down. So, I did a cannonball and still hit the
bottom. At least I did not lodge myself in the muck by jumping
straight down. I would guess the pit was about 8 feet deep. A couple
more obstacles and a mile jog and we were done. We took a few "after" photos. They had plenty of water and 5 Hour
Energy for us at the finish line. Our times were posted quickly and we
finished in 95 minutes. Not fast, but respectable, the average time
was about 2 hours. Three firemen and a pumper truck hosed us off. It
is amazing where the mud ends up. Literally everywhere. The runners
were provided a Chick-fil-a sandwich and 2 mini Budweiser beers. I had
a great time. My only problem, which was shared by probably everyone,
was debris in my shoes. The sediment built up under my feet and that
made running a little more uncomfortable then normal. But, I am
definitely looking forward to the next mud run, which is in early
July.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)