Training is over and it’s four days away from the Tough Mudder. I’m a lot less nervous about this than I was for the marathon I ran last year. It probably has something to with the fact that I’ve been more diligent about training for this event than the 26.2 miler and there won’t be any monotony involved. There’s is something thoroughly mind numbing about running in a straight line for about 4 hours.
I’m also soothed by the reality that I can skip over any obstacle I deem too difficult. I don’t intend to but it’s nice to have options. Keeping that in mind, I’ve been perusing Sunday’s course to figure out which obstacles are most likely to give me trouble. In no particular order, here they are (Italics are descriptions courtesy of the Tough Mudder Website)
Sand Trap
Charge through an energy zapping stretch of sand. finish by crawling through the sand under the weight of our trademark devil’s beard.
Sloshing through sand won’t be difficult from a physical standpoint, but it may trigger some childhood anxiety. I used to have a large fear of dying via quicksand. I’m not sure where it came from, but it took me a long time to get over it. At least, I think I’m over it. I’ll find out for sure this Sunday.
Funky Monkey
Monkey bars were easy when you were 5, but you’ll need to hold on extra tight to these. Some of them have been greased with butter and you’ll get a shock when you fall into an ice cold lake.
Monkey bars were not easy when I was 5. They also weren’t easy when I was 10. I distinctly remember trying in vain to cross the monkey bars as a kid. Everyone seemed able to get it done but me. I would make it past one or two bars and wear out. I would usually just hang there in the summer heat like a rotisserie chicken. I’ve been working on my upper body strength lately (forearms are looking mighty good, thank you very much) and I think I can get the job done. I thought about trying to get some monkey bar experience pre-Mudder but the only place I can find them are elementary schools. I get the feeling that a grown man on monkey bars without a kid of his own might land me a starring role on Dateline’s To Catch a Predator.
Fire Walker
Plain and simple, run through our blazing kerosene soaked straw. Expect flames 4 feet high.
Also on the list of ways I’d least like to die: being set on fire. I’m not sure how long the trek through flames is, but hopefully it’s not too long. Additionally, I decided to delay getting a jheri curl so as not to tempt the gods.
This should be fun…