Mud Run '08

Have you ever had one of those moments, when the thought crosses your mind, "Why did I ever decide to do this?"  I had one of those moments, when I stepped into the first mud pit at the Mud Run and my shoe suddenly was engulfed & filled with mud.  It was in this exact instance that I realized,  "I do not like getting dirty, much less muddy and I paid to do both."

Now anyone with a modicum of sense, probably would have stopped right then & there and dropped out of the Mud Run race, but not me. I had two things to keep in consideration. 1.) My teammate and running partner Linda (I had convinced her we needed to do this race & it would be fun.) & 2.) A friend of mine, who I told that I was running this race, laughed at the idea of me running in the Mud Run and went as far as to call me a "priss,"  I just had to prove him wrong.

So, I soldiered on with my Team Aloha teammate Linda, up the hills, down the slide, through the mud, over the bales of hay, up the ladder & down the slide, into the mud.  To think, this was only the first lap.  I had a major revelation during this first lap. 1.) I will never talk my running partner or anyone else into another "fun" mud run. & 2.) I admit to each and every person reading this blog, my friend is correct. 

Somehow without my knowledge, I have become somewhat of a "priss."  This coming from a woman who has been on several missions trips, played sports, likes fishing, hiking, riding quads, has had horses, helped with branding cattle, likes the rodeo, football, enjoys camping (well, in an RV)...the reality is my list is longer than I could really say.  

When it came to this Mud Run, there was something about willingly running, crawling and falling into the mud, which had me desiring two things, a warm shower and fresh clothes.  I did reluctantly continued on running the required 2 laps, trying to remember in the midst of the muck, that I was having fun, at least that is what I kept trying to remind myself, as my mud filled shoes felt as if they weighed at least 10 pounds each.

Team Aloha did not break any course records nor did we win any special prizes, but we did get really muddy and if I have to admit it, we had a little bit of fun. 

 (Special thank you to Linda's husband Joe for taking photos.)