Race Report: Pretty Muddy Mud Run

The good thing about sitting around on medical leave is that I can polish off a couple of long-overdue race reports that were in my draft folder. I normally love to write race recaps, but these two races came at a time when I was super busy with the whole shebang of my crazy life. But I’m knocking things off the to do list now and don’t plan to fall behind again!

So here it is – my race recap of Pretty Muddy Richmond.

It was my second mud run, my first being the Dirty Girl Mud Run in August. I had won the entry from another blog‘s giveaway – lucky for me, the first winner couldn’t use the entry and she re-drew the prize. My sister and sister-in-law decided to register and we had a blast.

Since Richmond is a couple of hours away, my sister and I used a Marriott certificate that I had from my frequent traveling and made it a girls’ night. We had a 1-bedroom suite with a kitchen and fireplace, and it was amazing to have wine by a fire in a hotel on a Friday night at a time when we’d normally be putting our little kids to bed. The perfect way to end a hectic week! Our sister-in-law decided to camp since the race was in a state park and she loves camping, so we met her at the race.

In the morning, we drove over bright and early to the race venue at Pocohontas State Park since we were in an early wave just after 8am. The entry into the parking area was clear and well-marked with signs leading up to the entrance, and they had ample people directing the parking. Once we parked, we looked around and realized we needed to take a hay ride to the race area.

We hopped on the hay ride (no line at that time of the morning) and it was a pretty fun start to the day.

It wasn’t a long ride to the race venue from the parking lot.

We checked in and checked our gear bag, ready for the obstacles! Thanks to my sister for the pigtail braids, although my hair didn’t want to stay in them.

Unlike Dirty Girl, we didn’t get a free t-shirt with this race, and the pre/post-race area was smaller. But I liked the atmosphere – it was like a fall festival. They had at least one game for people to play – it looked like a bean bag toss.

And they had good entertainment – a band playing live music. We really enjoyed this after the race as we were waiting for one another.

So as with all mud runs – we took the before picture:

I didn’t run with my camera (shocker for me!) because I didn’t want to get my precious little camera dirty. I’d love to get a water/mud/weather proof camera for events like these some day, but for now I don’t have pictures of the in-race moments. We joked that we needed a fourth person with us to just follow us around with a camera and not get dirty.

So the race itself – overall we had a blast. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I ran it twice in a row – my sister-in-law and I made it a 10K obstacle run!

OBSTACLES: In general, we liked the obstacles. However, a couple of them seemed very similar (i.e., climb over this wooden thing). So it wasn’t quite as varied as the Dirty Girl, and there weren’t as many huge inflatables. It was hard not to compare and I liked the Dirty Girl better for the obstacles. The first obstacle had sudsy bubbles that were really fun to run through, but our second time through they must have been refilling the soap since it was pretty empty.

THE COURSE: The course was amazing, I really loved the state park trails this was set in. The only negative was near the beginning when we had to be extremely careful not to twist our ankle getting to and just past the first obstacle – there was some uneven grassy areas. But once we got on the actual trail, I loved it. I really miss trail running – I used to do a lot of that and never do these days.

THE RACE AMENITIES: Overall it was low-key. They were selling food, had a band, I heard there was free beer but didn’t have any, some tables set up with vendors or info, and they had a merchandise sale area.

THE CLEAN UP: At a mud run, the clean-up is key. We didn’t feel as though we could adequately wash up since the clean-up was outdoor hoses with low water pressure. It was good for rinsing, but not completely thorough. The nice thing was the changing area – it was an enclosed tent with private changing rooms.

THE MUD FACTOR: We got muddy. Not just “pretty” muddy – very muddy! But only from the waist down – there wasn’t much that got us muddy on the top half.

The “after” pictures for when we finished the course the first time:

My sister-in-law and I looked at each other and thought “I want to do it again!” My sister said “I’m going to shower and I’ll wait for you!”

So we ran to the starting line just as another wave was starting. You can barely see me in red on the right side of the crowd. We were the only already-muddy ones there!

It was definitely more crowded the second time through – doing the early wave was great for not having lines at obstacles or at the finish.

Here’s a tip – don’t wear bootleg capris to a mud run. They got so muddy and soggy and flapped around like heavy weights, it made it hard to run the second time through. I wanted to wear longer pants since it was a chilly fall day, and I remembered my knees getting torn up from rocky mud in the Dirty Girl run. But bootlegs – bad idea.

My sister caught this pic of me half-run-walking after the finish.

We got our medals and grabbed a bar and drink at the finish line:

Here’s the “after” pic after the second time through the course:

Similar, but much wetter and soggier pants!

By the time we finished the second run through there were lines. Lines for the washing hoses, lines to buy merchandise, and lines for the hay ride back to the car. So my advice is to just be patient and don’t be in a hurry – or go for an early wave before more people show up.

I’m definitely game to do another mud run in 2014 – it’s a fun time and a great atmosphere of camaraderie with all the other participants. People run, walk, do a little of both – whatever gets you through! And doing the race twice through was a great training run for the Army Ten Miler!

I wasn’t compensated for this review, nor did I receive a free entry from Pretty Muddy. I won the entry through another blogger and registered using the code from the giveaway. My family paid for their own entries. All opinions are my own.

It’s Early Mornings or Bust in Workoutland

Throughout my training for the triathlon, I realized that if I didn’t get the workout done first thing in the morning before the crazy morning kids’ breakfast/getting ready rush begins, it likely isn’t going to happen. Or at least not a quality workout. I sometimes work out in my basement late at night with videos, but I’ve lost my steam for kickboxing at 10pm. My days are just too long to have that kind of stamina.

[Evidence: half-assed bike workout late at night, followed by carby, giant snack that undid it all.]

The only exception to this is when I can exercise on my way to work, at work, or after work before the commute/dinner/bedtime crazy evening begins, but the latter means that I sacrifice precious time with the kids so I avoid it. But in general, I’m going for early mornings. I’ve had a really busy week and weekend, and not much time on the computer, but I felt pretty good about how I fit it all in last week.

Monday – My usual rest day.

Tuesday – I did something I’ve always wanted to do! I got up early, ran to the gym (1.2 miles), did 15-minutes on the exercise bike, and ran home. It was awesome. A brick workout with the exercise bike!

Wednesday – So here’s what I mean about the stamina late at night. Exercise didn’t happen early in the morning, but at night I was motivated. I put on my workout clothes while I was getting K ready for bed, but by the time I read him a story and sat with him while he fell asleep, it was about 9pm and I hadn’t yet eaten dinner. So… I ate a snack, and just felt really run down. I realized I needed a night in to chill out and relax as much as I needed exercise, so I focused on just spending time with my husband and having a nice evening to recharge. It worked, because Thursday morning I was back on track!

Thursday – Another day where I conquered something I’ve always wanted to do! I snuck out of the house in the pitch dark at 6am.

Side note: don’t step on this guy when you’re trying to avoid waking up the sleeping kids – he’s LOUD! I quickly ran out of the house before I could be caught escaping…

I went to the indoor pool, which is just a few miles away, and swam laps there for the first time. I had done all my triathlon swim training at the neighborhood pool and never ventured to the county pool, and it was great! Two big lap lane pools.

I swam 1200 meters and felt like I could have kept going, but I needed to shower and get ready for work. Came home, nobody was fighting and everyone was in a good mood for the day, including me – I consider it a success and want to make it a regular morning thing!

But this meant I had huge goggles-marks for work for a while.

Friday – Just did a quick 5K run around the neighborhood. It felt great! I am really happy that my regular pace has dropped quite a bit. It was actually 3.06 miles because they finished a sidewalk and I no longer have to cross a street – I need to reroute to make it an even 3.1.

Mile 1 = 9:30

Mile 2 = 9:18

Mile 3 = 9:15

(And I don’t think the 0.6 at 9:08 counts!)

Saturday – I did the Pretty Muddy Mud Run with my sister and sister-in-law, but ran it twice so it was a 10K obstacle/mud run. I’ll write up a race report soon, it was fun!

Sunday – I was pretty sore from the 10K obstacle run, and truly extremely busy with an au pair host family workshop, then a huge gala at work, so I took it as a rest day.

And off we go into another week of exercise, kids, work, and fun. Hoping to get in more time on my actual bike this week, rather than the faux bike at the gym. The good news is that the couple pounds I gained during taper and post-triathlon funk has disappeared again and I’m motivated to keep it up.

Do you workout in the morning?

Do you have a pool nearby for lap swimming?

Race Report: Dirty Girl Mud Run

I’ve been so caught up with my recent birthday celebrations and travels that I haven’t posted my Race Recap of the Dirty Girl Mud Run in the DC/Baltimore area. It was my first mud/obstacle run and I can’t wait to do another!

My sister has recently started running, and really wanted to do a mud/obstacle run for her first race ever. So me, my sister, sister-in-law (who has gotten into the most amazing shape), and my au pair signed up together as a team for the Dirty Girl Mud Run.

The instructions from Dirty Girl said to arrive 90 minutes before your start wave. We were in the 8:45am wave, and didn’t quite make it there 90 minutes prior (hey, I needed coffee!) – it was more like an hour before our wave’s start time. There was a line of cars to get into the farm but it moved pretty quickly.

We laughed at this sign as we came in.

It just took a sec to pay the $10 cash fee to park and then no time at all to park and walk over to the registration table.

Things were pretty well organized with the check-in table – easy peasy, lemon squeezie, to quote my 3 year old.

We picked up our shirts. The logo for Dirty Girl is cute, although I’m sure wearing a shirt that says “Dirty Girl” will inspire commentary.

Everyone over 21 received a bracelet for the post-race free beer.

They had a Paul Mitchell station for hair braiding, which I totally would have done if I had left more time before our wave. I wore pigtails, which is highly unusual for me!

We were not coordinated enough for costumes or matching shirts, but saw plenty of cool ones at the event that inspired me for the next one! We just came in old clothes and shoes, things we didn’t mind getting muddy. My sister decided to wear long pants to save her knees from rocks and other rough obstacles. She had the right idea because my knees and elbows were pretty scratched up afterwards, but I wouldn’t have wanted soggy sweatpants weighing me down through most of the race. Maybe kneepads are the answer!

Here’s a “Before” picture – we’re too clean!

We walked to the starting area, where they had an emcee getting everyone excited and involved. Then we were off!

The run itself was in a large field, and because it had recently rained, it was a little slippery and muddy already – this got us into the spirit of the race. We ran between obstacles but saw plenty of people walking, jogging, and just laughing their way to the next one. I would deem this race for any fitness level, because they don’t time it and allow you to go around an obstacle. But honestly, everyone I saw just went straight through every obstacle and had a great time!

The obstacles were fun, a neat mix of going under, through, and over things.

The muddy “After” shot!

It was impossible NOT to get muddy unless you skipped things. I seriously felt like a kid again.

The only flaw in the organization and layout was that we had a hard time finding the washing area after the race. We picked up our bags from the gear check and wandered around a while. It turned out that it was completely on the opposite side of the layout from the gear check and through some trees.  At last we found it – it was basically a big tent with hoses set up inside. I decided to do a basic wash and then take a real shower at home.

I had worn old shoes that should have been cleared out of my closet years ago. I can’t believe I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in these things! There was a shoe donation area right outside the changing tent, so I passed them along.

After the race we enjoyed a hard-earned beer with our free beer tickets. It’s 5:00 somewhere, right?

What a fun day, and a great experience for my sister’s first race ever. She’s now prepping for a local 5K and then doing another mud/obstacle run with me in the near future. Maybe someday I’ll convince her to do a half marathon with me! A girl can dream… right?

So all in all, I’d give the Dirty Girl Mud Run two thumbs up. We had a blast, the course was just the right length, the obstacles were fun, and everything was well-organized with the exception of needing signs to lead us to the washing area. I would do it again.

And next time, we will actually coordinate those costumes we talked endlessly about.

If you did a mud/obstacle run, did you wear long pants or kneepads?

Dirty Girl Mud Run – Discount Code for DC/Baltimore!

It’s time to get DIRTY!

I’m so excited. I’ve been looking for the perfect mud run to do with my sister and sister-in-law, and we decided to sign up for the Dirty Girl Mud Run in the DC/Baltimore area on August 10. The location is uber convenient for us, but in general even if you’re not nearby it’s easy to get to. And the race is women-only, which is good for the least amount of embarrassment possible for our first mud run. My sister has recently taken up running (she’s one of us now, mwa ha ha!) and it will be her first race of any kind.

I’m happy to share with the readers of my blog that yours truly is now a Blogger Ambassador for the Dirty Girl Mud Run, which means that YOU get a 20% discount to the DC/Baltimore Dirty Girl on August 10, 2013 when you register with this code: DGBALTIMORE.

What’s the Dirty Girl Mud Run?

Dirty Girl Mud Run, the original women-only national mud run series, is coming to the DC-area on August 10, 2013.

An untimed obstacle course that welcomes women of all ages and athletic abilities, Dirty Girl Mud Run challenges women to break from their routine for a day, get out of their comfort zones, get dirty, and accomplish something brand new – all while having a blast. Every one of the obstacles—from the “Utopian Tubes” tunnel crawl to the “PMS (Pretty Muddy Stuff)” mud pit—is optional, so participants can skip anything they find too difficult. Forming teams is encouraged, and so are crazy team uniforms.

A Dirty Girl Mud Run comes with excitement, laughter, and camaraderie—as well as lots of music, food and drinks. From start to finish, it’s an unforgettable event and an incredible teambuilding experience.

And… In 2013, Dirty Girl expects to donate $250,000 to Bright Pink, the only national non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancers in young women. Cancer survivors always run free of charge!

A TIP for those of you with work computers. Listen up! The website is godirtygirl.com, it’s not www . dirtygirls . com [link broken on purpose!] or any other variation of those names. Even if it’s your lunch break, do NOT, I repeat DO NOT type in the latter into your work computer. This will be blocked by your IT department and likely have you flagged for suspicious internet activity. Doh, pretty please don’t fire me!

I was on a break! It wasn’t even the right website name!

Okay, I’m probably the only idiot who has done that…

We are so excited! I’m turning 40 a few days before that, so this will be a fun way to celebrate by doing something fun and challenging with my sisters and friends.

So form a team, make a costume, and join me on August 10 at the Dirty Girl Mud Run in Maryland. Remember, the code for 20% off the registration fee is DGBALTIMORE.

Have you done a mud run? Did you wear a costume?