Today I did the Dirty Girl 5k Mud Run and Obstacle Course with CKM and it was AWESOME!
Hey, remember…. family blog!
Today was a great day! CKM spent the night after helping me to paint last night [great job by the way! texted a pic to the realtor and she was amazed!]. We got up, went to Bojangles drive through for breakfast. It’s one of CKM’s favorite places and there aren’t any where she lives and when she knows she’s coming to see me, wahoo!
On to Lake Lanier Island Resort for the Dirty Girl 5K Mud Run. Paid our $10 to park, found a spot, had to walk what seemed like a mile [on the way back, after the race, felt like 10!] and then stand in a very long line for a very long time to check in and get our race bibs. Next, pick up our shirts and necklaces [apparel and bling, what could be better!], drop off our bag at back check, last time at the port o’ jane, then off to the start.
There was a sea of pink, apparently we missed the memo! I was in all black and CKM in black and purple, not to worry, we still looked fabulous! [my sneakers are pink does that count?] and we were off! There were some great team shirts, a lot in support of breast cancer awareness, so just think about all the puns and go from there!
There were 13 obstacles and none of them were very difficult, that’s what I liked about it, it was something everyone could do. Some were in the mud, some climbing, crawling, under, over, through. Since this is a women’s only event, I would say if you have never done an obstacle race, this would be a great one to cut your teeth on. There was some running, but it wasn’t mandatory and all the obstacle signs said “we won’t tell if you go around” so there was no pressure.
There was a lot of comraderie, even with people you didn’t know, you encouraged, you helped and if, perchance your teammate was not muddy after the 3rd or 4th obstacle [DEFINITELY NOT myself or CKM] then, you helped those teams out by running up to the VERY clean members and hugging them! this was a mud run ladies, don’t buy expensive clothes and expect to not get dirty!
There were cargo net ladders, muddy baths, walls to climb [I did not skip one obstacle!!!] a slide that was so much fun, we did it twice! no one cared! the best was we weren’t being timed, so have some fun!
At the finish line we danced into the water to clean off the mud, but not to worry it’s still on our race bibs!
After the race, we collected our bags, went into the tent and hosed off, literally! There was a pipe that ran the length of the tent and hoses with spray handles on the end and the water was fffffrrriiigggiiiddd and if you were a modest person, you might have been able to find a spot in the very back corner to change, but if you wanted to wash off the mud, bite the bullet, drop your drawers and hose off!
There was a sign posted “no cell phones, no photos” makes sense, all these women in the all together, who would want their photos taken, although, i thought it seemed like an artist installment, women together, something like that. you did your thing, got dressed and got out, simple as that.
Next, it was on to the merchandise tent…sweatshirt and performance shirt later [it’s going to be cold where I’m going, so CKM reminded me] and the sweatshirt is cozy and the performance shirt has a pocket and a hood, how could I not? CKM and I thought it would be fun to be twins, but, as it turns out…the shirt I liked didn’t suit her and the shirt she liked didn’t work for me! what are the odds?
Gather all belongings and new purchases, head the 20 miles back to the car, I’m telling you, after the race, it seemed to take forever to get back to the car! On to Cracker Barrel for brunch, along with a whole bunch of other Dirty Girls, we managed to keep our heads off our plates.
After lunch, get in the car, drop the top and away we went!
We are so doing this race again next year, even during the race, after the 3rd obstacle, we were talking about doing it again, who we thought would enjoy doing it with us and what cities we could do it in! Would I fly back to Atlanta to do the race with CKM next year? You betcha! [April happens to coincide with some important events that I want to be here for, so bonus!] and would CKM fly to Colorado to do the race with me? Why not!
If I haven’t stressed this enough, this was a very fun race that I recommend to anyone, well, any woman, who is looking for an obstacle race, a fun time, no pressure and lots of other women to share the experience with. Go for it! It will be worth the price!
Peaches Prattlings 