Saturday it was time for the mud Masters. No real training, no real preparation, no breakfast, no looking up the obstacles, nada! A suicide-mission, it was. But finish, I did.
To go back a little, I was very excited to participate for the second time during the Mud Masters, and not just the 12K, but the 18. About 6 months ago I thought it would be very doable, seen as I’d been running quite some races. But after a massive winter-blues, I wasn’t so sure anymore if it was a good idea. But no turning back now! Put on my Dutch Mud Men-gear, packed my Mudclaws and clean clothes and I was off to Vijfhuizen. When I arrived, the excitement started to show and I really felt like running towards the site. At the registration I got my race-number and got it also written on my forehead. And got myself a sandwich, seen as I didn’t have a real breakfast yet. Little by little I met up with people from DMM, and also met new members, and of course, Andrea! She was probably going to sprint through the whole thing but I was going to take it slow, together with Theo.
Picture: Mud Masters
Finally there was the kick off, and we all ran. Well, I soon noticed my lack of training. First off all there were these massive stairs. Unending stairs. I squat about 2 minutes daily, but this made my upper legs burn like hell. This is also the term I’m going to use for the next 4 or 5K. realized that that sandwich hadn’t been a good idea. Theo told me I said that during every race. Really?! Do I keep making the same mistake every damn time? Must be my blond hair. But I still had about 13K to go. But luckily, after that, I was in my zone and just kept running. The nausea left and I crawled, climbed, swam, and carried a heavy sandbag for about 700M. To my own surprise, everything ended up going way better than last year. I climbed further before falling into water and I even made it over all the great walls this time, with the help of a few guys. The only thing I just didn’t want to do were the sizzlers. I just hate those dangling electric cables, but going around it wasn’t an option for me, but I didn’t to go through it either. So I found the solution: I was going to crawl underneath them. This resulted in me crossing the finish line covered in mud, earning myself quite some curious looks. But at that moment, the only thing I cared about was my free Finishers-beer. This is truly the most rewarding beer ever. The second one as well. And the hamburger. Nomnomnom. Andrea finished first together with a friend by the way, I’m so proud of her!
Picture: Mud Masters
Now, about 2 days later, I still can’t come down stairs or get out of a chair without excruciating pain. Every muscle in my body hurts. One of my co-workers can’t stop laughing and said that, next time, before going to sleep, I need to take a few paracetamol. She says it magically makes the pain go away before it shows up. Definitely going to try that one at the end of the month, because upcoming: Strong Viking Mud Obstacle Run!
Did you participate during these Mud Masters? Do share your experience!
Run on!
♥
Filed under: Running, Sport
