I’m a Tough Mudder x2

This blog post is specifically about the overall event. I will do an obstacle blog post soon.

It’s official. I am a Tough Mudder x 2!

Not only did I earn another orange headband, I also earned a green headband too!

It’s official I’m a 2 times #toughmudder finisher pic.twitter.com/vxM4fMS6sy — Matilda Iglesias (@MatildaIglesias) March 23, 2014

Tough Mudder is now recognizing repeat mudders. Every time you complete another Tough Mudder you earn a new colour headband.  How awesome is that!

Ok so now onto the race recap.

Team Pinnacle had 3 awesome members in it.
Team Captain – Myself
VIP 1 – Mum
VIP 2 – Paul

For me and mum It all began at 5:45 am when the alarm went off.  I had packed my kit and laid out my clothes the night before.

As a team, we decided to all wear our Run The Gap Shirts (from 2012).  Mum didn’t have one, so I got one for her to use *.

I also chose some DriFit running shorts (as they had in-built undies in them), pro compression socks, and an old pair of runners.

Pay attention to the weather report! I thought I would be ok with the shorts. Last year I wore leggings. I should have gone with the leggings again this year.  Let me tell you I was cold.  The shivering cold for most of the race.

I totally recommend compression socks, I got no blisters and I wasn’t weighed down further from mud attached to my socks and my shoes.

Anyway back to the story.

On our way to Phillip Island, we stopped over in Brighton East to pick up a fellow mudder in need of a lift **.

We arrived at the Tough Mudder car park just before 9 am.  Josh (the fellow mudder in need) had volunteered the day before so had free parking.  Win saved $10 on parking.

I then called Paul and told him I’d meet him over at registration. Once there we picked up our race kits and dropped off our bags ***.

After that, we decided to sneak into the 10 am wave.  The 9:40 am wave was already being called for, so we decided as a team that we would just go now and be finished 20 minutes earlier.

I was pumped and nervous.  I also wanted to look after my mum. She’s 65, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go out hard and fast.  Paul and I made a promise “we start as a team, we end as a team”. And so we did.

Overall I had a great time, besides getting the odd cramp and being icy cold.

The volunteers were fantastic, they really do help to make the event.  Sure some things could have worked a bit better, but it’s a huge event of course there are going to be hiccups. I might look into volunteering at a future event.

Coming over the finish line as a team was an awesome feeling.  I was so proud of my mum. She did it, sure it took us 4h20m (yes a lot longer than last year, but we were going at as fast as our slowest VIP), but we did it.  I even took one for the team.  As a past mudder, I didn’t have to do electro-shock therapy.  I had my own special obstacle to do. But as I said we are a team, and if my other team members have to do it, then so do I. We sucked it up got zapped and all made it to the finish line in one piece.

The beer at the finish line wasn’t that bad, but I’m not a beer drinker.  Solo (the drink) wasn’t a sponsor this year, which is a shame.  It would have been nice to have an alternative drink other than beer. Some of us don’t like alcohol.  Some of us can’t drink alcohol (for medical or personal reasons), and some of us have to drive home. If I was handed a hot drink I would have hugged whoever given it to me.  Yeah, I was freezing.

After a pathetic shower in an attempt to get clean.  I was clean-ish, dry-ish but most importantly rugged up in track pants, my new tough mudder shirt, and my jacket to get warm.  It took food and a hot chai latte for me to feel semi-normal again.

Browsing the store I picked up another Tough Mudder shirt. Sure it wasn’t the one I wanted to get (a shark/penguin event t-shirt) as they had none in small (they were a unisex size), but that’s the price you pay when you do the event on a Sunday and not Saturday (the main day). Popular stuff will sell out fast.

We asked the MC to put an announcement over for Josh, so we could take him home, and then we all piled in the car and made the journey back to our homes.

Before you ask, yes I have signed up for 2015. Yeah I’m that crazy.

Stay tuned, an obstacle blog post will be up soon.

 

Footnotes

1 * – If you do decide to enter a team I strongly recommend creating or having the same shirts. It does help you to stand out in the crowd.

2 ** – How this came about was that I was looking at the Tough Mudder Facebook page. I was looking at the various comments and pictures. I then noticed that someone posted that they needed a lift. I sent them a message. I figured why not we have to go that way anyway, it would only be a small detour.
So that was my good deed for the day.

3 *** – It would have been nice if Tough Mudder had told us prior to the event in our email packs that it would cost $5 to drop off our bag. They told us about the parking charge, but not the bag drop-off charge. This I was disappointed about, as last year (2013) it was free.