World's Toughest Mudder 2017

 "This was something that I know I was ill prepared for but I'm glad I got my arse out to the states and took part."
(Written 7th September 64 days before the event)

Having ran my first tough mudder in a cold November back in 2012, I've had a hankering to take part in what can only be described as the event to really see what you can push yourself through, the only issue being the costs involved with taking part, that stopped me. So late last year there was enough money that I was finally able to fulfil a mudder goal.

Ollie had booked villa for the team, as a base which happened to be between the airport and lake Las Vegas and near to a Walmart, which made collecting supplies much easier than a hotel. After a couple of days getting supplies and checking in for our bibs, we had the tents set up and stocked in readiness for the event.

Friday setup, checking out "The Cliff"

After getting across to the event site nice an early Saturday morning to unload the minibus, with the gear we would be wearing and eating. After hearing several pa messages about pit loading we were ushered to the start pen, where we were separated into elite contenders, team relay, contenders and then the open category. I sat with Tim and we listened to the safety messages and other information, Sean Corvelle did some shout outs to people he knew from US events, I spotted number 101 which I was pleased with. It was suddenly 12 pm and we were off, going up a pretty steep hill for the sprint lap, it was quite good bypassing all the obstacles seeing what to expect in the next 24 hours.

Pre-event team shot

It was an overcast day but it still felt really hot, I got to the point where a small water crossing was a relief regardless of how cold it felt. I got back to the pit in just over an hour which surprised me but I was really pleased, it might have been quicker but it seems I sweated through my socks and they were rubbing my toes and my heel, which meant I guessed that I probably needed some medical attention back at the pit. Once I got back to the pit area Anita and Nicola helped me sort out my feet, a quick refuel and then I headed back out again.

The second lap was much like the first, but a few obstacles had opened up, including kiss of mud, which reminded me of Electric Eel from Wales 2013, in that it was not so much muddy as it was a large collection of pointed rocks that jabbed almost everybody part. This was another great lap, a mere 50 seconds slower than the sprint lap. A quick bit to eat and back out, I was trying to beat some of the obstacles opening up, as I knew I would have issues with some of them and be forced into penalties. The desert it turns out was surprisingly hard to run on with the occasional bit of soft stuff, there were a lot of large rocks to avoid.

My third lap was another quick one, it seemed my necked tailwind and some sweet snacks, was paying off as a strategy, my times for the laps were surprising a few people, myself most of all, with proper training I could actually become a better Mudder.

I managed to get three laps in before getting into my frogskins, which was good as I probably would have overheated, if it had been any earlier. My timing was perfect, as the sun was setting as I came in off my 3rd lap. I bought the frogskins slightly larger than I would have picked normally, as it was suggested getting a size bigger and this wasn't a huge issue but I did find that I should have picked up a long sleeved base layer as I could feel the cold in my arms when I went back into the water, it wasn't a big issue but started to be something I noticed as the time went on.

I kept moving forward and as obstacles opened my lap times got longer but not as long as I was expecting. I noticed that I had no major problems with obstacles that I could use my hands and feet on, it was any that I was hanging by my arms that caused me problems.

I decided that as the night wore on, it would be a better strategy to take the bypass on things like Everest and funky monkey, as I reasoned it was better to save my energy and take a penalty than use up my strength, burn out and fail to make my goal of 50 miles.

Though my laps got slower I still managed to keep moving forward and once the cliff opened, I opted to wait and take the penalty which I hadn't noticed was through water, oh well. The event continued much in this vein, with me taking penalties over the more physically demanding obstacles, that would have had me hanging in mid-air. The must complete obstacles were physically demanding but nothing that I couldn’t do on my own or with a little help.

My strategic penalty taking paid off when I stayed ahead of Dan and Colin, who had done Everest then helped others and continued on, whilst I took the small run and water crossing. I kept running and walking getting the miles under my feet with reasonably good lap times, I did find that the hill out of the start had me feeling cold until I hit water, which I thought was just me, but Colin also mentioned feeling cold on that section of the course.

I came in off my 7th lap I decided that I would do one last lap, so that I would be 10 miles off the 50 I wanted, rather than say 5 miles off, which would have upset me being so close, this meant an extended pit stop and change into my other wetsuit as I was getting cold, it seems my neoprene socks work well if I'm in water frequently but not so well sitting still.

The finish line where I was mentally broken

I went out for a last lap and Tim stayed with me the whole time, I think the combination of amount of time I had been going and the wetsuit being so thick meant I was fatigued going round and having to take regular breaks, I managed to complete all the must complete obstacles but I was getting more tired with each mile, I had myself telling my sub conscious that I would be completing the cliff, as I've wanted to do it, for the last few years but when I got up to it, I was broken, I sat and cried before taking the penalty option and sobbing my eyes out, feeling utterly broken by the course and the event.

Looking back as I write this, I’m not disappointed that I didn’t get to the 50 miles I was hoping for, as I’d made the decision to stop when I did, I do think that I should have kept a closer eye on the time that I spent in the pit as that was around 6 hours.

Better mental health

So I'm not sure what has brought about a change in my mental health, I've an idea that it could be eating a healthier diet, with fewer takeaways, though not takeaway free and starting to train for World's Toughest Mudder which as of  starting to write this post, a mere 64 days away.

The main thing is that I'm feeling a lot better in my brain, I've known this entire year that I needed to get out and train as my fitness has declined over the last couple of years but I've always had no motivation to get out there and build my fitness back up to the point where I was continually running when I wasn't doing obstacles, don't get me wrong, I've loved taking part in all the events I've done this year, from travelling to the US to the smaller events I've ran in, I just haven't been fit enough to get the times I could do, also having gained a bunch of weight back has made getting over obstacles more challenging, although I have managed to beat Kong (the rings suspended over the crash pads, for any non Mudder readers) several times and the current version of Funkey Monkey, though I did come close in Scotland to beating it, just not enough momentum to get off the last ring.

So as I sit on the bus and spot someone out running, thinking I wish I was out running, I think I can say that since getting the news before the first year of my degree that I wasn't getting course fees paid which is what seems to have caused my depression to kick up, I'm getting back to a mentally healthier and a physically healthier me, which I'll bloody take and hope I can avoid falling into another slump any time soon.