From Mother to Tough Mudder!

So my past couple of months have been eventful.  A friend of mine decided to do the Tough Mudder in October and I said I would do it too.  I said this before I looked it up and holy crap, I looked it up!! 12 mile course of ice, fire, electrocution, running, jumping, climbing, crawling and of course mud, lots of mud.  Time to start training!  My wonderful instructor said he would help me train and that quick recovery is the key so hill running up Bradgate Park it is.  First time out, 7am on a Saturday morning, wow it’s fresh! :)  We start our run, I’m keeping up and all is going well.  "Come on Wolfie up the warm up hill" says Mike.  I figure the warm up hill is the first hill so the easiest one right? WRONG!  For crying out loud, made it less than half way LOL!  The run continues and off goes Mike around the outside of the park, sending me back to the entrance and once more up the hill.  I drag my arse back at what can only be described as a shuffle but I made it, just :)  Run is done, I catch my breath and feel awesome.  What a rush feeling super fit, until 3pm rolls round and cue me, fast asleep on the sofa while my 3 year old tries to put Mini Cheddars up my nose!

I try so hard to figure out why I have this need to get fit and challenge myself and all I can think of is I’m insane, though insane with a kick-ass, muscly back :)  Being all vain I get hubby to take a pic because after he tells me my back is toned as hell I wanna see, I will share this with you because I’m pretty proud…

I hope one day I will be this proud of my legs but slowly, slowly, catchy monkey and all that. My little boy has now started part time so I’m working out 5 days a week and as I get ready to do a 10k Race for Life I start to worry have I done enough?  If I can't do a 10k I’ll die in a SAS designed assault course!  To think I only found fitness 3 years ago dawns on me big time and, as women do, I doubt myself.  Am I taking on too much?  Am I kidding myself?  I still think of myself as a 12stone, 30+ mum of 3 with a serious fudge addiction, it’s hard to see the reality which is I’m a 9st 11lb fitness and life loving woman :) Sucks how hard I find it to praise myself sometimes (Pfft! – Hubby), it’s easy to dwell and not pause and see how far I’ve come.  I worry too much as Race for Life comes round as me and my amazing friend do it in well under an hour.  Time to stop moaning and pull myself together!

The training over the next few months pays off I’m feeling very fit but fit enough to do the Tough Mudder?  Hmmmm!   I get a lot of help from my trainer and KSFL coach and I’m as ready as I’ll ever be so here goes!

These are my team mates; my brother, my good friend and his mate.

We lose the lanky ones of the team at mile 2 and re-dub ourselves Team No Legs!!  Luckily my awesome brother and I stick together and I cannot believe the things we do!  At mile 4 as I jump in to 70,000lbs of ice and water I bang my head >_<  Grrr, so annoyed, and not with the fact that I almost drowned but that I had to be pulled out.....Bum!

As the trooper I am I soldier on and we had great fun, laughing so much in the mud we cannot walk!  It turns out a 15ft jump into a 4m deep pool of water is bloody terrifying :) The 10,000 volts in the two electric obstacles are the easiest of all, how mad does that sound?  Me and my brother manage the hu-f*%&ing-mungous skate ramp first time because we're just that awesome :)  Making it all the way up shouting “FIRST TIME BITCHES!”, whilst 3 lads are dragging my over the top by both arms and a leg.

It was more of a mental challenge for me.  Fears of confined spaces come flooding back as we crawl through tunnels and some twat shouts "Don't use tunnel 7, it's collapsed!”  While I crawl through, talking to myself, all I can think is "The one who gave me this fear by rolling me up in a quilt and sitting on it when we were kids is the one waiting for me on the other side!”  If not for the fact he could easily kick my arse I would have soooo dead armed him at this point, but being in such a crazy situation it’s best keep him on side hahaha.  I'll beat him up at Mam's next week when I’m no longer covered in a rainbow of bruises.  My fear of heights has always been under control as I don't want to pass my fears on to my kids, but all those fears came back with an almighty punch.  Still I overcame them all and for that I’m so proud of myself, and shamefully wear my Tough Mudder head band everywhere :)

Proud Tough Mudder - Hoo-Rah!