Back in action

Today was a really, really great day.



The Tuff Scramblers was SO much fun. It was the perfect event to do as my comeback race. It was so low key, I was with my dear friend, and I had nothing to prove other than to finish and have a good time. Mission accomplished.

The first mile was all trail -- REAL trail, not like the Airline Trail which is kind of like a dirt road. It's so different, we felt it in our calves immediately. Lots of tree roots, going over or under fallen trees, slogging through streams -- it was a true trail.

After the first mile we started getting to some obstacles. There were a lot of giant mud mountains that we had to climb. We had both watched the video and seen the people running down it and decided there was no way we were risking taking out our ankles so we butt slid. Very effective and quite fun!



And here's our butt print in another dirt mountain.



There were a few giant hills made out of boulders. My friend really got me through those because, while I had been feeling okay with my abdomen about the obstacles I was doing I was scared to death of slipping on a muddy rock and ripping something. She loves to hike -- the real deal hiking -- so she got me through some of the scarier parts where I really didn't know which rock was safest and if I could even reach it. Here's one of the boulder mountains.



And putting on a brave face that I wasn't scared out of my mind of falling.



Every time we thought we were done because we could see the finish line we would end up taking a turn and going back into the woods for for trail. It happened at least 3 times. Near the end they had made giant pyramids of wrapped hay bales. I skipped that one. If I wasn't afraid of popping whatever stitches I have left I could have done it. They were about chest height so I just would have had to use my upper body to get a boost and pull my legs up. Even just engaging that motion made me feel my core and that was just too scary. Especially if I had gotten to the second or third tier of the hay bales and been about 25 feet high and then couldn't get down. I was okay with that. Tough Mudder is still 6 weeks away and I won't have that fear then.

My friend was having a really good time but she said that she thought we'd be covered in mud and soaking wet. Well, she kind of got her wish. The last obstacle was a swimout and we both got wet, for sure.



It was so much fun and the perfect way to get ready for the Mudder. The post-race food was the best I've ever had -- pulled pork sandwiches, pizza, and beer! It beats a bagel and an orange for sure. I hope they have the race again next year. It wasn't really well attended but it wasn't really advertised either. I'd definitely do it again next year. Tough Mudder and Spartan is a circus -- a jacked-up, fun circus -- but a circus all the same. It's all Xfit and military, it's the fittest of the fittest. It's a different vibe. This was just fun. And that's what I needed.

The Mudder is going to be a lot of fun this year. My friend and I are going to go at the pace we did the Tuff Scrambler and have a good time with it. We'll stop for pictures, walk when we need to, and have the best time we can with it. I'm really looking forward to it now!

The 9 miles tomorrow though... That's another story.