So 6 am rolls around on Sunday morning and both my phone and Meg's phone receive a text message.  The text reads "Wakey, wakey Mudders.  Are you ready to get pummeled by Big Mudder today?"  I think to myself "OMG!!!! This is really actually going to happen...(gulp)"

We get up and get dressed in our new (minus our shoes, they recommended no "new pumped up kicks") underarmor/nike running gear and head out the door to our Tough Mudder.  We stopped at a Wawa, which by the way is an amazing gas station with delicious healthy food and got ourselves some breakfast. Meg got a tuna sandwich, which I was told in school that tuna was a really good food to eat before a big race/game/competition, I on the other hand could not stomach a tuna sandwich before 7 am. So I got turkey instead. I decided to stay away from the delicious bacon, egg and cheese’s because I figured they would be a little two greasy and fattening before a big race, I was probably right!

We arrived at our Tough Mudder 2 hrs early for our 9:45 start time and all I can say is WOW!!!!! There were so many different types of people. There were people of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels. While some dressed for a tough race, others dressed in Santa suits or batman and superman get-ups! There were even a few Rambos!  Of course you also got your half naked mudders... there was one group of guys in spandex denim shorts (they might have been my favorite ;) haha).  Most importantly there were LOTS of hot guys everywhere!!! I was pretty sure these hot, fit, muscular guys would come in handy along the way! 

We went and got our packets with our numbers and armbands (the orange one was the most important as it got us a free beer at the end) and then had our numbers written on our foreheads, arms and anywhere else we felt necessary. Meg and I thought our necks were a very necessary place!

So now it is time to start the race! We all took the Tough Mudder oath:

“As a tough mudder I pledge that: I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge. I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time. I do not whine. Kids wine. I help my fellow mudders complete the course. I overcome all fears!”

And then we did a 10 sec countdown (OMG!!! OMG!!!! OMG!!!!!) and chased a monster truck down the start of the course. Meg and I made sure we were at the front of the pack before the race started so that we would actually be in the lead.  This lasted about 0.5 sec. But at least we were in the lead for a moment! We would run for 12 miles over various terrain and TONS of MUD! We began with climbing a wall and over cargo nets (this was done several times throughout the course) then our first tough challenge was to jump into a dumpster (like the ones we use for manure) filled with ice water (literally bags of ice were dumped in), we had to go under a board divider in the water and then pull ourselves out. Not hard.... try being completely frozen and soaking wet. My body was in shock and I could hardly move. It took me 2 tries and everything I had to get out.  But Meg and I made it out and carried onto the next obstacle. We would swim across the cold river several times. The first time we swam across we had to climb up a 15 foot nylon ladder.  I knew those strong, hot boys would come in handy!  There they were at the bottom of the ladder holding it still while I climbed up.  Once I got to the top there was nothing to grab onto to pull myself up, except for yep another hot boy!!! He grabbed my one hand and told me to give him my other hand.  I thought "are you kidding me!!!!!"  So there I was dangling 15 ft in the air with nothing but this guy holding onto both of my hands.  "Don't worry I won't let you go" he assured me and thank goodness he didn't! 

Since we went across the river once, we had to go back, but this time we had to jump off a 15 ft platform. This was probably the scariest thing for me, as I do not like free falling and drowning scares me even more! But after coaxing myself off the edge I plugged my nose (yes like a little kid does with my thumb and finger)and screamed silently as I plunged into the cold river. It felt like forever before I came back up to the surface, but I did and across the river I went. The rest of the obstacles were not so scary for me.  We went over a few “small” Berlin walls (10 ft high) and mountains of hay. Through a massive mud hole that felt like 10 miles long! We ran around a very very very muddy motocross track with a mud mountain! Many got only halfway up and then slid right back down. Then we ran some more and over another wall and cargo net to 2 more much larger Berlin walls (12 ft high) and yes those strong hot boys were there to help boost us up. But even standing on one of the guys hands that were straight above his head I could just barely reach the top! It took all of the upper body strength that I had to pull myself up and over the top! Next was a half of a half pipe that was also 15 ft high and very slippery. Again there were some strong boys at the top to help pull on our arms to get up. These last 2 obstacles were impossible without the help of a fellow mudder or two! And I am pretty sure we pulled one lady’s arm out of its socket. I think it was already injured before hand but she just kept yelling “please just don’t let me fall.” So she screamed this horrible, painful scream as we pulled her up and was ready to pass out at the top!

Next we ran through some tires and carried a one of them around the track. We went through another muddy motocross track, through fire, tunnels in the mud and water, a balance beam over water, over and under logs, under barbed wire 10” above the mudd and over a cargo net wall. We ran through creeks and ditches, pulled ourselves across a cable and then came to the monkey bars. By this time my hands were so cold and cramped that I could not hold onto them, so instead I swam across the water. By now we are at mile 10, we are soaking wet, covered in mud, hungry, exhausted and cold again from getting wet. We have one more water obstacle which involved swimming under barrels in the ice cold water. By the time we got out I could feel every cell move as I tried to open and close my hand. It was unreal I have never felt that type of cold ever in my life. But we are almost done. We have just one mile left. So up and over the wall and cargo nets we went and on to our last obstacle. The electric shock!!!!!   This one worried me the most before I started, but now it was all that stood between me and an ice cold beer at the finish!!!! So I ran as fast as I could over the obstacles and through the dangling electric wires pulsing 10,000 volts!!!! I definitely got zapped a few times but I made it!!!! I did it!!! I was still alive!!!!! (Sorry Rebec you don't get to have my horse) YAY!!!!!!

So what do you get when you finish a tough mudder???? An ice cold Dos Equis XX beer!!!! And man did it taste good!!!! We also received some protein bars, some sharkies (these really delicious electrolyte/protien candies), a sweatband and t shirt. The worst part of the whole thing was actually trying to get undressed because you couldn’t move your fingers haha. I literally couldn’t get my pants over my ankles!!!! But it was all worth it. Every step of the way (even if I could hardly move for the next 2 days!). It was absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!! And I will do it again!!!! Next year I think!!!

So I had a night out in the NYC, the WTC memorial, an amazing challenge and unforgettable memories with some pretty awesome friends!!!!!  Life doesn't get much better!!!!