After the fun we had last year, my friend Deb, as well as my brothers John and Stephen and my sisters-in-law Sandi and Rose, decided to do the Big Sur Mud Run together. Unfortunately, I've been so sick with the flu that I haven't really had the energy to train. About a month ago, my whole family came down with the worst flu we've ever had. Our son had fever spiking to 104 for five days, and although Duane and I didn't have a fever that high, we both got really bad ear infections. Ugh. I was hoping to do better than last year's time, but at this point, I'm just glad I'm feeling well enough to do this!
We drove down to Marina the night before and stayed at the Ramada just as we did last year. Unlike last year, however, the weather was wet with a light rain falling during part of the run. The Army didn't have any need to add water to make mud this year. All they had to do was dig holes and let the rain do it for them!
Some runners covered their clothes with plastic garbage bags. I wore a hiking hat with a broad brim to keep the rain out of my eyes, some exercise tights, a tee shirt and a waterproof parka so I wouldn't need to use a garbage bag. Runners were milling about the big red arch at the start line. We had some warm ups at the start, before the gun went off and when it finally did go off, off we went!
It didn't take long for me to lose everyone in my group. I had thought I might be able to keep up with my little brother, since he has been having some difficulties with his feet. Apparently, this didn't stop him much because after the first few minutes, Stephen was no longer visible. I tried looking for the umbrella hat that my sister-in-law Rose was wearing. That was not to be seen either. I was all by myself in a crowd of hundreds. So I just kept jogging along.The course was similar to last year, but there were fewer obstacles. The walls seemed to be shorter by a foot. Or at least it seemed that way since, this year, I had no trouble surmounting them. Running downhill was more problematic with all of the slippery mud and I found myself being more careful. There were also three calisthenic stations, at which Army drill instructors commanded us to do push ups, jumping jacks and sit ups. I kept moving through the various stations and obstacles and still I never saw the rest of my group.
Finally, I got to the last wall and mud pit. I heard the announcers voice joke that someone wearing "Avenger gear" was moving through the mud pit. Was he talking about me? I was wearing a broad brimmed hiking hat...
A few minutes later, I was running the last lap around the track before the finish line. I had been running pretty casually (where was everyone?), so I decided to sprint for the finish line. It was just about then that I noticed everyone was waiting for me. I wasn't surprised. My time was 1:21:13 - not the greatest and only 45 seconds faster than last year's time... but it was faster!We finished off the day with a great seafood lunch at a Monterey restaurant after showering and changing into clean clothes. The question remains: Will I do this again next year?
