The obstacle course itself was definitely awesome. It was challenging and muddy! And we all finished with mud in our hair and in places you never imagined could ever get muddy. It took a good 3 days before I had a used Q-tip come out of my ears clean after a shower (what places did you think I was referring to?). Most of the mud was rinsed off of us at the finale obstacle, but I managed to keep the mud on my face at the finish line.
Now the not-so-fun part begins! You’re wet and filthy, so you want to go take a nice hot shower with soap, dry off and put on some clean, dry clothes so you can enjoy the rest of the post race festivities. Well, the thing is that there aren’t any hot showers anywhere. You can rinse off at the provided showers (which are really just PVC pipes with holes drilled into them, spewing out freezing cold water). If you were wise enough to bring some bottled water and leave it in the back of your truck in the sun, you might have a warmish rinse-off. Or you can stay dirty the rest of the day, chilled only until your clothes dry. Thank goodness we were somewhat prepared. It was a nice, warm, sunny day and we were forewarned about bringing gallons of water to clean up with. The gallons we had were in the back of the truck, warming up in the sun so our rinse off wasn’t ice cold. But it wasn’t a nice hot shower either. And changing out of our dirty clothes into cleaner clothes took some effort! We took turns being the “curtain holder” for each other while we undressed and redressed. It worked out just fine. It’s another one of those teamwork things!
After we rinsed off and changed, we enjoyed watching others complete the obstacles as we imbibed on Harpoon beer! For those of you who know or follow me, you know how much I am a fan of good beer. Harpoon brewery brews some pretty fine beer! I had to control myself though because I was the one that was going to have to drive us back to our hotel. So, much to my dismay, I did control myself.
After wandering about the event grounds and chatting with some of the vendors, several of us came upon a volleyball net and decided to join in on the game. I haven’t played volleyball in years! It was always a staple at family gatherings and I did play some in high school. It took me a few serves to get back in the game, but once I was “warmed up” I was ready! I think I ended up playing for a full hour or so. Teams changed up about every 10 minutes, and by the end I was coaching some kids on how to “bump, set, spike!” It really was fun. My forearms really paid the price though! I forgot how much of a beating they took!
The ride back to the hotel was definitely entertaining. Chris (our team member that was on Injured Reserve due to a sciatic nerve thing) was depressed because he couldn’t partake in the obstacle course and therefore drank himself to near oblivion as he watched our gear while we were getting muddy…well, he is a fun drunk! So he helped to keep us entertained during the ride to the hotel! And the rest of the crew was having fun with the crawling traffic out of the event site. Loud music, windows down, flirting with all of the others stuck in line as we exited the event. You get the picture!
Leaving for home the next day was a little bittersweet. We were all looking forward to getting back home to see our loved ones that we left behind, but we all wanted to DO IT AGAIN!!! As we took off from the hotel, I handed my cell phone to the carpoolers so they could navigate for me. Instead, this is what I found later on my phone…
It’s so hard to find good help these days!
Really, these two were a fun pair to hang with for a weekend, and I’d do it again! (Yes, it’s true Melanie and Courteney!)
The drive home was uneventful and there was no mud involved so, in essence, it was quite boring. Getting home was nice though! After traveling, no matter what the distance, as soon as you arrive home there’s a huge weight lifted! “Ahhhhh! I’m home!” You know what I’m talking about! Back to familiarity, your own stuff, your own bed, your own paradise. Getting home after this was no different for us.
Once the dogs were home from the boarding vet clinic, the “pack” was back together again and we all relished in our fondness for each other! But I am looking forward to my next event…Dirty Girl, here I come!
AnimalWhiz 