Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Coming Soon

I will get to my team the "Dirty Blondes" in the next day or so, just be patient with me please.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Mud Run - Dirty Blondes

Well, here it is as promised and only a week late. I'm not sure how this will turn out because when I downloaded the pictures I had them oriented to the left and not center so the text may not match the pictures exactly.

The "Dirty Blondes" consisted of me Janet, Andrea, and Mollie (my sister-in-law). This whole thing was Mollie's big idea and we even had shirts with our team logo done on them. We found out later that the color of the mud splatter printed on the shirts was almost the exact color of the real mud.

Anyway, to start we had to get down on the ground, when they shouted "up" push up into plank position then hold it till they yelled "go". Two teams started at a time as you can see and the team behind us were the "Dirt Daubers". As we were waiting we got to talking about different races and they told us all about the Fort Jackson mud run which you will hear all about later since Jason and Mollie are already planning teams and training for (it's in September.)

Ok so finally we're off. I was the slowest runner on the team, but the other girls were very understanding since I volunteered to boost them over the walls. Of course I got some help too since the teams behind us didn't want to wait while I struggled to heave myself over, they gave me a boost. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of that. Those would have been rich.





We had fans cheering us all along the way! They didn't think it looked too hard. Of course these are our strong boys Preston, Jesse (Chad & Suzanna's son), and Jonas. They said they want to be on Team Huge next year.


So when we came up to the "mud pit" this is what we saw...

A sand bagged area filled with red dirt and being flooded with water. Very cold water.

Andrea was the first one through, then Janet and I together, then Mollie. Notice how Janet managed to keep her shirt clean. Mollie hugged her later just so she'd be dirty.

The creek bank was slippery, but we negotiated it with no mishaps. And finally made it to the finish line where we promptly removed our shoes as they weighed about five pounds apiece at that point.



We waited and our fans soon joined us as we cheered for Team Huge and celebrated the fact that we finished.


As we awaited results the kids wanted to run their own race so Jason organized a few sprints for them as well. It's never too early to start training I guess.

The Mud Run - Team Huge

For several years Jason and I have enjoyed participating in 5k races. Jason has also done 10k and even a sprint triathlon, so when his sister asked if we would be interested in doing an 8k mud run we were excited at the prospect. We knew 3 1/2 months in advance this would be a fun challenge. 5 miles with 30 obstacles and calisthenics stations along the way with one obstacle being a mud pit followed by a creek. So we've been "training" off and on for a while always knowing that although we didn't have quite enough time here or there to get in a work out, the race was still far enough away that we had a while to keep training. Then came the day that we realized the race was less than a week away. Oh the panic.

I was registered on a team with my sister-in-law Mollie and two of her friends but Jason's team had disintegrated in the months between finding out about the race and actually participating in it. So with only a few days to go he managed to convince his brother-in-law Chad that he could still do it and two guys from church, Tui and Jason, that it would be fun. Since no one on their team weighs under 220 pounds their name was "Team Huge".



Now although none of these guys are small they are actually pretty fit. They run, bike, play basketball, lift weights and other various activities. So with each knowing their own abilities they were all pretty confident they could make it through. Unfortunately there were a few setbacks. Jason Garrett had been really sick and was finally starting to feel better but after 2 1/2 miles was having such a hard time with his lungs that he had to drop out.



However the other three team members continued on valiantly without him. The second time around was when everyone had to go through the mud pit and creek. The fans (aka Jason's sisters and all the kids) were yelling that the only way to get through was to dive in like a slip and slide, so that's what they did.

Tui seemed to come through without any issues. However Jason ended up with mud in his contacts and Chad, well you see the pictures. Jason sunk about a foot into the mud crossing the creek, but Chad, oh how I wish someone had managed to get it on video. After much slipping and sliding he managed to haul himself up the creek bank and then only had to worry about the 20 extra pounds of mud he was carrying. Ok, so that's an exaggeration, but not by much.

After the mud pit they still had a few more calisthenics stations, but finally they made it victoriously to the finish line. They were a sight to behold and were received by cheers from all their fans.

After the race there was only one water hose for all the contestants to rinse with. After looking at the length of the waiting line Chad and Jason decided to take advantage of a nearby pond. (Tui had already left in order to get to his daughter's volleyball tournament, we did receive word he managed to get in a shower before he went.) So anyway, they headed for the pond where they dove right in. Jason came up laughing and yelling because a fish had swum up his shorts.

They came out of the pond a lot wetter but not much cleaner. However being dirty never stopped them from helping out and these two dads voluntarily emptied the overflowing trash cans which contained a surprising number of muddy shoes.

They did well and we are all proud of the big boys of "Team Huge"!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009


Yes it will come as a shock I am finally updating my blog. Lots of things have happened lately to keep us busy but nothing other than our visits from "The Grandmas" have seemed blog worthy. And I also haven't had the time to update. However with Grandma Cindy here for a few days here we are.

Jonas loves his P-dog and Liddie Bittie!



I had to go meet with some sisters from church this morning. Long story short, I learned how to make laundry detergent. Anyway Grandma Cindy stepped into a day in my life for a few hours. She got to do school with the kids and keep everyone else occupied at the same time. School went pretty well until the internet started freezing up. At one point while I was still home we had all three computers (mine, Grandma's, and the school computer) going at once.
While I was gone Grandma got pictures of school time. And of my closet in the school room, although I think I've posted that before here it is anyway.



Here is our Odie Podie concentrating very hard on history I believe.





My busy little bees!



And my closet.