Warrior 2012!

I meant to post about the Warrior Dash as soon as I got home, but I’ve been so busy this is my first chance to sit down and write.

But that means I get to relieve the excitement I felt on the weekend! I DID IT! I did the Warrior Dash!! And I completed *every* obstacle. Some of them were a lot harder than others, but I did every single one. And I loved it. I think I managed to be one of the least bruised/injured as well! I escaped with only a few bruises. My fellow teammates had chipped teeth, sprained ankles, black and blue bodies, and plenty of heat stroke.

I went with a team of 13 amazing women and we had so much fun together. Our tshirt/headbands all said “Honey Badgers” and it seemed like we were the most talked about team of the race! Everyone was cheering us along, it was great. Along the way, we split up according to fitness level but whenever we saw each other on the track we would cheer “Go Badger” or “No Badger left behind” and other people would join in. If there was a team spirit award, it would have been ours!

Group shot! Before we got all sweaty/muddy

Nicknames on the back

Disclaimer: None of the pictures from the obstacles have me in them because I didn't want to risk my phone, but luckily a fellow team member (in the more fit group) brought hers in a plastic baggy so I've stolen those :)

Start: thank goodness we were in the 10am wave! It was hot enough as it was.

Most of the group at the start, waiting to start our run

*insert huge hill that was actually harder than most of the obstacles!*

Barricade Breakdown: Hurling your body over and under the various structures results in bruises. And if you're Molly, also a chipped tooth!

*back down, then UP the mountain again. Phew, we were tired!*

Valley Hurdles: I made up this name, because they didn't have it on the website. But it was sliding down a hill (not so gracefully on my part), jumping over cylinders and then the hard part: climbing UP the muddy hill on the other side.

Cliffhanger.. this picture was from a difference race, but same obstacle

Giant Cliffhanger: Use a rope to climb to the top of a SUPER steep wall then hurl yourself over the top and climb down the ladder on the other side. Getting to the top wasn’t too bad, but over? That was a whole other story! I probably didn't look graceful, but I eventually managed. Once “the girls” were over it was just a matter of pushing with the legs. I tried to helped my fellow Honey Badger over but with this obstacle there wasn't much you can do to help except get out of the way.

Dead Man’s Drop: Another wall - this time no rope! From looking at other races, I think we were supposed to climb up the ladders on one side and drop down, but they set it up backwards. We had to "jump" up the wall and use upper body strength to get over, but thankfully two strong gentlemen were there helping us short people over. This was the scariest for me, because I was appalled that people would have to lift me. I wouldn’t had to confidence to do it even 30 pounds ago! My upper body strength is pretty good, but it was difficult to pull my whole body up and over even with them lifting me. Those guys were a godsend. Just when I had decided it was too hard they pushed me up even further and I got it! Gotta love teamwork! And I didn't crush them - woohoo!

Disel Dome: Climb over a bridge that looks more sturdy from the ground! Slow and steady won the race, although it was mostly nerves that made it tough. It was high! And the space between the boards at the top was far.

Storming Normandy: Crawl under barbed wire! I was worried that between my big stomach and my butt wouldn’t fit but again, I didn’t need to worry! I fit. With room to spare!

Go Team Badger! 

Cargo Climb: Up and over. Loved this one, easy peasy!

Chaotic Climbover: This one was dangerous because as soon as you got your balance, people starting climbing over a different spot and it threw you off! Had to use more core strength to this than I thought I would.

Vicious Valleys: The name makes it sound much harder than it was. It was kind of lame to be honest, haha. But there needs to be a few easy ones tossed in!

Warrior Roast: I was hoping the flames would be bigger, but it was still big enough to feel the heat. It was great fun leaping over them!

Muddy Mayhem: My favourite one. Crawl under the barbed wire, through mud. The mud there was more a clay kind of mud, which was a bit sad. I had hoped I’d get muddier! It felt great to be in water after all of the heat though!

Found the rest of the group, showing off our medals! You can't really tell, but we're covered in "mud"

All hosed off and so proud of myself!

See, doesn’t look so hard eh? Who’s going to do it with me next year? I want to see how fast I can it! Michelle already said she’d be interested in the tough mudder up in Whistler! Who knows? I’ve got the fitness bug and I’m lovin’ it.