TOUGH MUDDER Check In

Ok, time for the update. And, while I may not have gotten to be a Tough Mudder, I did have to make a Tough Mother decision not to participate. With a baby on the way, I knew this wasn’t my year to participate. A few tears of disappointment were shed, but I forgot my troubles when I realized I now had the opportunity to be a cheerleader for our team, Crossfit Full Circle. I and another wife trekked all over Wintergreen to follow the team through as many obstacles as possible—and had a great time doing so.

We saw them climb out of an ice bath (yes, palettes of ice poured into a dumpster of water and it was 40 degrees out) and help each other over cargo net walls. Then they slipped and slid down a tarp straight into another freezing pool of water. We made sure to gather as many heat sheets to hand off so they could get warm. Of course, once they hit the “death march” those sheets were shed quickly; it had to have been at least a solid mile up a black diamond ski slope. We did about 1/3 of the course with them, then bailed to meet them at some later obstacles. Other highlights were the shake and bake (through water then under barbed wire through sand); the half pipe (teamwork was the only way to get up that one); the fire pits (phew, not sure how they were able to breathe); and last, but not least, the electric shock wires. Need I say more?! To quote my husband, Gene, “It was like someone literally kicked me in the leg, but I had to keep running.”

Here are some great pics of the team before and after, and Gene mastering the obstacles. I couldn’t have been more proud to watch Gene show the course who’s boss while keeping the morale of the team high and making sure never to leave a man or woman behind. All that and he had a smile on his face every time I saw him. It makes him either a wee bit nuts, or totally fabulous!