Tough Mudder Kentucky October 20, 2012

The challenge is issued

When was the last time you did something you weren't sure you could do?  For me, it has been a long time!  I mean something that you said, I really don't know if I will be able to physically and mentally complete this challenge. 

I have a friend who wanted to complete a Tough Mudder competition before she turned 50, but she didn't want to do it alone.  I had never heard of Tough Mudder so I had to look it up online.  My first thought after watching footage of these crazy people was, does she really consider me a friend?  What friend would ask you to run 12 miles through 22 VERY challenging obstacles – jumping off 15 foot platforms, swimming through a dumpster filled with ice, crawling through water and electrodes (I am sure my parents warned me against such things) and before the finish line you run through a final tunnel of electrodes?

If you know me well enough, you know that I am stubborn and would never say no to a challenge.  I soon realized I would need a significant reason to train and complete this course, because I was not the one turning 50 anyway! And one day it dawned on me, you are actually afraid of this challenge.  I had to give pause and realize, it has been a long time since I was afraid I couldn't physically do something.  Isn't this what you encourage clients to do everyday?  Well, there was my motivation! 

Experiencing God through our training

Training for the Tough Mudder event was brutal.  Have I mentioned yet that I hate to run?  I mean reeeeaaally hate to run.  There were days we left for long runs and I would look at whoever was at the welcome desk and tell them I would rather be going to get a root canal, and I was serious!  And did I mention yet that I had never completed even a 5K event?  Organized them, yes… completed one, no.  I HATE TO RUN.  However, I wanted a challenge.  Workouts consisted of LOOOOOOOOOOOONG runs (lol, actually no more than 6-7 miles, but for me that might as well be a marathon), intervals, sprints, stairs, climbing fences, carry logs, crawl across floors… there was a game of leap frog one day but that was just for comic relief. 

One day on a run I was struggling (more than usual) and literally for the last 3 miles of the run, I prayed – “Push me Lord, push me.  Push me Lord, push me.”  Over and over I said those words in my head.  The training process drew me to God.  He was my rock and my strength.  I hear people say, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”  I DISAGREE.  Sometimes God gives you more than you can handle, so that you have to rely on him.

Deanett and I had chosen scriptures and quotes that spoke to us during training.  They were short phrases that we had memorized during a couple of workouts.  We practiced and recited them on runs and when training got hard.  On race day, we wrote those scriptures on our arms, legs, hands and shoes. 

Tough Mudder – Kentucky October 20, 2012

The Tough Mudder event we chose to do was in Kentucky so we stayed overnight and got up Saturday morning to get ready, have breakfast and head to the site.  We were ready; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually ready.   We had our quotes written on our bodies, a few layers to keep warm before the event and we headed out.  We parked in a general parking area and were taken to the site on buses filled with other crazy Mudders.  You could feel the nerves and excitement on the crowded bus.  When we arrived we went through check in where they write your number on your forehead and arm, dropped off our things at a bag check and made our way to the starting line. 

Many people were dressed in costumes.  Deanett had tank tops made with a cross and Phillipians 4:13 on them – that is what we wore.  To get to the start line you had to climb an 8 foot wall, a rite of passage so to speak.  We started in a group of 150 other Mudders.  Every 15 minutes, a group takes off and before every start, the Mudder Pledge is recited and the National Anthem is played – Tough Mudder is a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior project.

When a wounded soldier returns to the US they are often left in situations where they cannot do what they are accustomed to doing – fighting, running, climbing, battling.  A challenge is given to them during their recovery – complete a Tough Mudder event.  Do something that you don’t think you will be able to do.  Are you beginning to see a theme here?

The count down begins. 10, 9, 8, 7, (Rocky theme song is playing) 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… and we were off.   Cold mud, ice water dumpsters.. did I mention yet that the temperature that day was only 46 degrees and wind speeds were 20+mph.  The second obstacle was the dumpster filled with water and ice, 35 degrees to be exact – Arctic Enema it is called (nice!)  From that point on, I was frozen!  Running up and down ATV course hills the entire time did not warm me up. 

The course was challenging.  No terrain was stable; sliding in mud, running across rocky terrain, climbing hay bales, over and under logs, crawling through tunnels, jumping over fire into cold water, sliding through water under electrodes (yes I got shocked!) At about mile 5 we started seeing people with silver heat sheets wrapped around them to keep them warm.  They looked like more of a burden than assistance so we would forego them.  Until we got to the first Berlin wall – 10 foot walls that you had to climb up and over.  As we approached I saw medical personnel surrounding a victim of hypothermia.   We press on. 

At about mile 8 we decided to try the heat sheets.  By this point you can hear sirens on a regular basis and you can’t tell if they are at an obstacle you have already completed or one you are approaching.  People are being hauled off of the course.  We press on.  At mile 9, I had mentally and emotionally decided that in order for me to finish this event on my own accord and not on the back of a 4-wheeler headed for an ambulance, I would not be able to complete any more obstacles that would get me soaking wet and freezing.  I told Deanett I would stand and wait for her at any obstacle she wanted to do but I knew I wanted to finish.  In total there were 4-5 of the 22 obstacles that I chose not to do, not because I was afraid, but because I knew what my body was capable of and what would happen if I got any colder.

I learned far more about myself when I reached that point of failure than I could have learned by sailing through the whole event easily. 

We reached the finish line after over 4 hours and as we ran through that tunnel of electrodes I realized, “I just completed Tough Mudder - the Toughest Event on the Planet but only with the assistance of the One who created the planet.”

Go find an event to train for – your workouts will have purpose.

Choose something you don’t think you can do – you will find out with His help you can do anything.

Complete that event and when you are done, you will know that you are capable of more than you knew.