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| Clearly A “Before” Pic…Not a Drop of Mud On Them…YET! |
When a good friend called up hubby several months ago and asked him if he wanted to join his team and do a “Tough Mudder,” I think he agreed before he really knew what he was getting into. But my hubby is a wise guy. Wink. Really, he is. He trained. Did push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, almost daily. He also built up his cardio stamina by running several times a week, building up his mileage as the week drew nearer. And best of all, he recruited his close friend Junior to join him.
When the weekend of the race arrived, we drove out with our camper to Tobyhanna State Park campground in the Poconos, and had a carb-loading dinner followed by brownies and roaring bonfire to warm us up on this cool April evening. The brownies were my idea. For our two brown guys who were about to be eaten alive. Okay I admit, I actually just wanted the chocolate. And I was pretty sure the boys would more than survive this multi-tiered challenge of a lifetime. I mean, people do it all the time. Surely, they would cross the finish line and join the ranks of orange headbanded Tough Mudders who had gone before them. I actually knew very little about the race before this weekend. I had heard little phrases like “fire walk” “electrical shocks” “muddy water” and “dark tunnels,” but I figured in a country where safety is number one, how bad could it be? Then hubby prints out the “participant waiver” which literally says the words “death” twice in the document. Gulp.
Come to find out that the guy who came up with Tough Mudder is from Harvard. Why am I not surprised? Facebook started at Harvard, right?!? Anyway, the guy who came up with the concept in 2010 wanted to create a team building race that involved obstacles simulating Armed Forces experiences in order to add excitement to the average marathon and to establish a challenging experience that focused on the team rather than the individual accomplishment. Love it!
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| Team Stunad…One Tough Bunch! |
In fact, you should really come out to witness a Mudder even if you never participate, just to hear the motivational speaker who riles up the “troops” at the Start Line. He had me laughing one minute, and then tearing up the next, as he spoke with a beckoning “hoo-rah” call after every other phrase or so! [More about him later this week!] And the reminder that the race was designed to raise money and pay tribute to our wounded soldiers goes straight to the heart. The heart of the message.
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| Had To Get the BEFORE Shot Of Our Hubbies!! |
The founder Will Dean and his team have helped raise almost three million dollars for Wounded Warriors thus far. Talk about an astounding accomplishment for less than three years of events. The official website actually mentions that it’s about “experiencing a true sense of camaraderie that, sadly, is rarely seen outside of the military these days. To get over some of our obstacles you will need the help of others – they are simply too much for one man to tackle alone. Tough Mudders, unlike some other types of endurance runners, are team players; they help out other Tough Mudders. We want everyone to compete, but being a Tough Mudder is also about making sure no man is left behind, not worrying about your finish time.”
Our family Tough Mudder madness began the night before. We all turned in around 10:00PM to guarantee enough sleep before the event, but not even two hours later, daughter number three woke up vomiting. Yes, you heard it right. Hubby jumped down from our penthouse suite (I like to call the space above the driver’s and passenger’s seat where we sleep the “Penthouse” in the RV) to help clean up the first mess of the night. Bleary eyed, I thought I was dreaming at first. But the scent of spaghetti and brownies was unmistakable. I know. Ewwww.
Then a few minutes later, she ran to the bathroom (thank God for the RV bathroom) and this time, she made it to the toilet. I got up this time. And every time afterward, knowing hubby had to get some sleep before the morning. It was only fair. When life’s not fair, you can’t think too much about these things. You just have to do whatcha gotta do. Sigh.
About two hours later of ten minute intervals of up and down, spending more time in the little cubicle bathroom then under the covers, daughter number two woke up and vomitted. Are you serious? Yuppers. Just when you think it couldn’t get worse. Double sigh.
So until close to four in the morning, possibly later, the two took turns, and at some point, I stopped getting up. They were sort of helping each other, turning on the flashlight, offering each other consoling words like, “Are you okay?” and “Do you need another paper towel?”
After the last time I got up to rub daughter number three’s back, I climbed back to my bed and turned to hubby who was wide awake. “What time is it?”
“Why?”
“Because I just need to know how much longer this night is going to last? And if you guys are gonna get any sleep before the big race.”
“2:45.”
Sigh.
And the way an RV is designed, unless you have heavy duty ear plugs and a nose plug that allows you to keep breathing, there’s no way you could sleep through the four plus hours of madness. I lit two matches after each time I cleaned up a mess, contained paper towels in tied up bags, but the night air just didn’t quite recover, if you know what I mean.
When the morning came, it was no wonder we were running late; we were all running on very little sleep and two of our four girls were spent. Literally empty. Literally. Poor babies.
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| This Team Said a Prayer at the START Line! Understandable! |
We drove over to the Pocono raceway, signing waivers, scarfing down boiled eggs and coffee, and praying for our guys to make it through alive. And hoping they wouldn’t start vomiting on the course if they caught the bug the girls had battled all night.
And this was how our first Family Tough Mudder Event began—with unforeseen challenges of two sick kids, a terrible night of sleep, no heat in the RV, and almost missing the start time. Come back tomorrow to find out how the race went. And how the different voices of encouragement along the way made all the difference. To crossing the finish line. Together.
**Would you sign up for the Tough Mudder? Have you ever had a rough night before a huge event the next morning? Do Share!!
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Somehow we all made it!! And so glad you guys found each other!! What a treat to be on the audience side of the event!! Maybe I’ll cross over to the other side by 2013!! -Raj
FRAN!! YOU are da MAN!! Such an awesome Team Captain!! Thanks for leading your team to the finish line!!!! 🙂 Still Smiling too!! 🙂
Raj, an amazing story! I can’t wait to read more, you have no idea how bad I felt not starting with “hubby” BUT I can’t describe how it felt hearing him call my name as I stood at the edge of the artic enema!! One second later he wouldn’t have seen me,
Sounds like a Tough Niter!