Mud Run!

Around the middle of May, I got an email at work requesting a response from those interested in running on the firm's team for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. I furiously dashed off an email expressing my exuberant interest and then waited with baited breath for a reply. For about five minutes. Then I looked up the mud run and realized that it was a 10K. And I had signed up for it with only three weeks notice. Ohhh crap.

I had fair confidence in my ability to do a 5K, but I had never run that much in my life. Plus, the team from our office competes with the team(s) from the San Diego office each year, so that was extra pressure to not drag down the team with my presence. Still, I'd wanted to do a mud run for the last couple years. So my self-interest held out over my concern for the good of the team and I didn't quit, like I was tempted to do.

I managed to train a little for the run, but I was definitely one of the slower people in the whole race pack. But I got muddy, and nasty, and disgusting, and exhausted...and had one of the best days of my year.

My friend Alejandra and I, after the race

The morning of the race, one of our team members unfortunately couldn't make it--so we almost got disqualified. But another coworker who happened to be awake at 7:00 am was able to save the day--he drove down to Camp Pendleton with no advance notice or training, and joined us behind the starting line about ten minutes before the race officially started. And, of course, he was one of the first on our team to finish.

Chris, our hero of the day

That was a day of many firsts for me: first 10K, first timed race, first mud run, first time in a communal shower...oh what a day, oh what a day.