Rugged Maniacs...

On Saturday, April 21st Tony and I participated in a mud run with his manager; Matt, and Matt's Fiancee', Jenn.  The mud run was called, "The Rugged Maniac" and was a 5k race on a motorcross course with about 20 obstacles throughout the run.  We ran through thick mud that almost removed our shoes, went through a pond that was full of tree stumps, rocks, thick mud and pool lanes that we had to go over, climbed over many walls varying in size from 4 ft. - 10 ft, through tires, up cargo nets, over fire, climbed through muddy pipes, crawled under barbed wire in thick, oozy mud, climbed up muddy hills with barb wire overhead, slid down muddy hills and down a slide into a pit of muddy water.  So, to sum it all up we had fun in the mud!  We thought it would be very challenging but it was not too bad.  In fact, we both thought we could do it all over again that day and we are already looking for another, more challenging, mud race in the near future. 

On another note:  I must include a funny conversation Tony and I had on the way down to the race.  Tony was playing a collection of songs on the drive down and "Life In The Fast Lane," came on and Tony claimed that as his song for the day.  Later on, "Wipe Out" came on and Tony declared that as MY song for the day.  I felt the love and encouragement coming from my husband, NOT!!!  Then, "How Do You Like Me Now," came on and Tony said, "this will be my song for after the race when I give you a big hug."  After that, "Walk This Way," came on and Tony said, "this can be your other song for the day!"  I was starting to think he had intentionally compiled these songs for the drive.  I told him, "Jenn and I would be declaring "We Are The Champions" as our song after the race!  Tony and Matt ended up beating us by about 2 minutes BUT Jenn and I started in the heat before ours (15 mins. before we were supposed to go) so our times were 15 minutes faster than theirs according to the race results.  We did not realize the race chips would mess up if we got into a different heat.  I did use my watch so I know what we ran but according to the official race results, "We Are The Champions!"  We can't help it if we are smarter then our men, making our own obstacle by "jumping into another wave!"  We call it the mystery obstacle and whoever discovers it, WINS!!! :)  So Tony, "How Do You Like Me Now??"       

 All nice and clean before the race.  We are actually waiting for a shuttle bus to take us from the parking lot to the race venue which was 3.5 miles away.  There was a snag in the transportation and they did not have enough buses going to and from.  We waited almost 20 minutes in line for a shuttle and realized if we waited much longer Tony and Matt would miss their heat.  So, Jenn and I drove them to the course and then found a nearby church parking lot to park the truck.  Jenn, all three girls, and I walked about 1/2 mile to the course carrying all our stuff and the cooler of waters and lunches.  We made it to the course in plenty of time to see Tony and Matt start.  The guys were in a different heat then us so we could take turns watching the girls. 

 Tony and Matt are off...(make a mental note that their shirts are white!)

 Tony reaching the top of this wall and almost jumped over before he realized that you had to climb down it, not jump!  Many of the walls you would climb up and then the other side you would jump down or onto a platform so Tony was thankful he looked before jumping. 

 Tony and Matt coming down the wall.

 Tony about to run, or should I say, "step" over the fire.  His fire was only smoldering coals but when we did it we had actual flames. 

 Tony about to bust down this muddy, slippery hill.

 Almost done...

 Finishing strong....

 Official Rugged Maniacs....

 Remember those white shirts???

 Tony could not wait to give me a big, muddy hug!

 Oh well, I am about to get really muddy too.

Jenn and I before our race.

Regan caught this rather funny pose of me jumping over the fire.  The fire was very hot and it felt like the bottom of my pantlegs were on fire.  I had to double check to make sure they weren't. :)

Here I come down the muddy slide.

Catching some air...

 And a big, muddy splash...

 Sliding down this muddy hill, no other easy way.

 Yes, we are rugged!

 Regan took this photo of us...

 Riley doing her own version of Rugged Maniac on a mechanical bull.

 Apparently, being a Rugged Maniac spectator is hard work as well.  This girl was tuckered out!

 On Saturday night we grilled out for dinner.  Tony and I were sitting on the porch and I see the girls climbing up our fence. 

I went out to take their picture and Reece turned around, showed me her muscles, and said, "We are rugged!"  I just had to laugh.  Looks like we have some future Rugged Maniacs.