Irvine Mud Run

Yesterday I started my day doing the irvine mud run. I wasn't looking forward to it. It was cold, and I haven't worked out regularly for quite a while. Last year, I was totally into the races. This year...not so much. But as we had signed up months ago, and it was a gift from our friend, we went.

I told Chris, "Even though we are not in the mood to go, let's not let Julie see it, because this was her gift to us." 

We agreed to meet at our house at 8am. Julie showed up promptly, as usual, and I smiled as if to say, 'looking forward to it.'  But when I saw her face - it wasn't as happy as mine.  I said, "What's wrong?". She said, "If you guys weren't going, I would have stayed in bed."

I started busting up. I was so afraid of offending her with our disdain at having to go, and here she was feeling the same way. All of a sudden I felt a brush of relief, and my desire to go was renewed. There is something about being in the same boat that brings comfort.

Now, I took the place of the cheerleader. After all, if we were all stuck in the same situation, we might as well enjoy it!

We decided right away to jump into an earlier wave. We didn't want to wait until 10:20 to start our race. So we jumped in at wave 8. Julie decided she'd better jump in a few waves earlier, because she is a slower runner and didn't want us waiting too long at the end. So she started about 12 minutes ahead. Smart thinking on her part.

As we stood there, my sis n law came tackling me from out of nowhere. I didn't even know that she was there. She couldn't find her friend to run with so she stuck it with us. I loved it. We used to do a lot more together in our younger years, and as life gets in the way, we hardly see each other, so this was a treat.

The guns went off and we started our trek. I was feeling a bit weak as it had been a while since I ran, so I stayed with Chris and Michele for a few. But as we reached the top of the first hill, all my training kicked in. I tackled the hurdles with no problem, ran as often as I could and walked when I had to. There were so many more hurdles than last year it was a real challenge.

As I ran past many people, I was realizing that I had done this long enough that I had really good muscle memory working in my favor. The muscle memory over rode the mind games I played in my head. I guess that is what good training will do.

As I passed mile three, I saw a yellow had in front of me, and realized, I had caught up with Julie.  I was so excited, because this meant my pace was really good!  This gave me renewed energy to keep pushing myself until the end....which was the most difficult part. The trenches and hills we had to get past were the hardest and most exhausting, and I was already tired!  But with each hill I climbed, it was one less til the end, and I just kept picturing the finish line, which helped a lot!

When I finally crossed the finish line, this wave of elation came over me. It happens every time I cross a finish line. That sense of accomplishment and can-do feeling. It is awesome.

I immediately ran back on the spectator side to look for Julie and Chris and Michele. I saw Julie first and yelled her into the finish line, screaming that she will actually get in before Chris.  What I didn't realize was Chris was right next to Julie as I was screaming her in!  But I didn't see him, cuz I was just looking at Julie!!!  As I ran back to the finish line, I practically ran into Chris and started laughing really hard!  I was so proud of him for doing so well!!!! 

And together, we waited for Michele to finish her first mud run. It was so great to be at the finish line for her!

I can't imagine doing this alone. There is such joy in celebrating with your friends and sharing stories with each other. We all were energized and ready for the day. And, of course, looking forward to the next race!