The Dirty Dash, Soldier Hollow, UT Today's lesson: Don't sign up for a 10k one week after a marathon, no matter how fun it looks. It was fun, but I was worried going into it. My left ankle was feeling good, but I had been having groin pain when I ran. But I'd signed up for this mud run, so I had to do it. Before the race I was feeling ok. Shortly into it, I wasn't. It started out with a big muddy hill. I took off too fast and started feeling it in my chest. The first half of the race was really rough. Very hilly and I couldn't get my heart rate down and had trouble breathing. Finally, I reminded myself that it was just a fun run and wasn't even timed (I couldn't even time myself because I didn't want to ruin my watch). So I slowed way down, even walked up one hill. The worst part, I rolled my ankle again. But the right ankle this time. Not as bad as the other one, but it still hurt.
The first few obstacles weren't very fun. Leg hurt on the haybales, chest still hurting through the tunnels, but by the time I got to the walls you climb over I was feeling better.  I got a little muddy over the walls, got my wind and headed out towards the lake. Slogging through the lake was fun and I started feeling really good. I started running harder and passed a lot of people. When I got to the top of the final hill I took my shirt off and dove down the slip-and-slide. I think I lost a nipple going down that thing. Fun -- but gives you a rash.
Then I run down the hill and dive into the mud pit. It's deeper than I expected. I went completely under and even swam underwater for a few strokes. I crawl through the mud pit, over the mud hill and cross the finish line to get my picture taken with a stuffed pig. Good times. The right ankle is still sore and my body is generally a mess, but I'll take it easy for a few weeks and be back at it soon.
| 