Somehow saying Aluminium and carbon wasn't the same. I went to Tameside circuit again that was great fun and did just go from being a nice hard workout doing some chain-gang training into just a full on hell for leather all out race!
Makes me wonder what it is going to be like tomorrow night when |I really am in a hell for leather, tearing your eye balls out race. If anything it will be fun (I wouldn't do it otherwise),
Saturday had a very muddy theme to it all!!!
I took part in the Endurer Dash that her in doors got me roped into doing.
It was actually great fun and we really did get muddy as hell too.
My wife "Lynne" had organised for a team of us to go and run this fun run, literally just for a laugh and because she had never done anything like this before. She is quite new to running and has really taken to it. To say 8 months ago she would struggle to run 3 km constantly and now runs upwards of 10 for a laugh on a Saturday morning, plus runs during the week with our dog on the roads and through the fields around the local area.
Late last year she did her first ever 10k run and managed to raise loads for the East Cheshire Hospice (the same one I am raising money for), Now she wanted to get into doing something a bit different. Now having a husband that is an ex-soldier must have made her think of something daft like an assault course. Thankfully I do enjoy doing this sort of thing, so with fighting pants on, off we went to the Peaks for the (erhem!) 8km event (more on the erhem later, just have a look at my strava and you will see why)
I really think that the very steep start was the bail of hay that nearly broke Lynne's back, it was an uphill start, then a up and down zig zagg that was made to sort out the field into the speedy snakes and the not so speedy idiots!!! By the top of the first hill Lynne was starting to have second thoughts about this. As the punishing course wound its way up and down the steep slope slowly heading towards the obstacles that lay ahead.
A few little horse jumps over the walls, logs and the occasional hay bail, then it was the huge hay bail mountain to climb up. This was relatively easy after the legs were warmed up, however the descent down the other side was less than graceful, with all four of us crashing down the mangled hay bails on our backsides.
On towards the monkey bars. Thankfully this had a queue so it gave Lynne a bit of time to catch her breath as we were keeping up a good pace and the hills were a bit of a killer. Really doesn't help when your team consists of a mega fit marathon runner(Ryan), an equally fit cyclist (me) and a dad that just doesn't know his limits but likes to explore them without fear (Andy)!
The monkey bars were a bit on the high side, so Lynne was unable to reach them however had a really good go at doing so. Ryan (marathon runner) and myself, had a really good laugh as we raced across the bars just wondering who would crack first! To my surprise we both made it all the way across.
Next came the bit that I am sure Lynne was looking forward too the most and I quite the opposite, the water crossing. Freezing cold neck deep muddy water! Hmm the best way to spend a Saturday morning!
We all jumped in one after the other. When I eventually jumped in a very Jeronimo! kind of fashion (can't remember if I did shout anything) I was instantly hit by the water temperature and felt like someone had taken my lungs and given them a good hard squeeze! I say I can't remember if I shouted anything probably because my brain went into shock at that point and deleted all memory of anything to do with how cold the water was.
On getting out of the water we had a quick rethink about our wedded bliss and thankfully carried on, now sloshing our way up the hill to the next obstacle. Why did I think it was a good idea to wear my boots??? Slosh squelch slosh squelch...
Bit more zig zagging up and down the hills plus a few more horse jumps, then it was onto a traverse wall which in trainers was probably reasonably easy, in boots not so easy! However Lynne being rather well endowed in the boob department was more worried about getting an unwanted nipple piercing at this point. Made me chuckle anyway!!!
Finally we started heading down hill. Now many people would see this as a good thing, however in the Peaks we all know many other things run down hill, Sheep, boulders, poo and water. All of which we were about to start running through.
Some very muddy bogs now had to be crossed. People had already been loosing footwear as well as churning up the bogs into a deep and sloppy mess. We hit them and I decided that wearing my boots was actually a very good idea! Squelching and laughing our heads off at the absurdity of the situation as we went through them we managed to plough on.
By now we were caked in mug up to our wastes and with heavy tiring legs we carried on into the woods to the dark (and very muddy) tunnels.
These were essentially a load of hay bails with a sheet over the top that we had to crawl under. So in a gentlemanly manner, Ladies first...Splat!
Lynne was loving it as she crawler through the tunnels only to find the next stage had yet more crawling Under wire through even deeper and smellier mud! Splat, squelch, giggle!!!
This Endurer thing was really starting to earn it's name as we could see that we were all starting to hurt a bit.
Next it was a log carry for a few hundred meters. Thankfully being a parent this was easy and Lynne was showing that yes she had been training by carrying around a child shaped lump for the past 5 years that certainly doesn't get any lighter.
The hardest thing was keeping your footing as even through an easy wooded area it was starting to get a little sloppy under foot.
Next down into the valley and a muddy watery walk up and down some streams to punish the legs. It was quite comedy as a few chaps in front of us obviously thought that they were near the end so washed some of the mud off arms and legs only to find just around the next corner some more tunnels to crawl though in thick sticky chest high mud to make sure you had a good all over covering.
The descent carried on to the road crossing that was really a very low tunnel under the road with a stream flowing though it. It actually did get so low that you had a crawl again but thankfully it wasn't so muddy, just wet!
We emerged into the wet cold and blinking into the daylight to continue on, thankfully the sun had come out and it was really turning into a very nice day.
Just the two of us continued to plod on now as Ryan and Andy had left us for dust.
Finally with the end in sight we rounded the last few bends slid down a water slide, bi-passed a 6 foot wall (we did both attempt it but it was so muddy that nobody could get over it) then on up the final steep hill to the finish.
The kids both Screamed with joy as Mummy and Daddy came into sight. Giving us a final cheer on to spur us up the last steep hill to the finish! With well earned finishers medals awarded and hugs all round we finished the day and went back to the car to get out of very cold, wet, muddy clothing and into something a bit more comfortable!
So for my Strava as I was carrying my phone all the way around adn it actually survived too! The 8km course was in actual fact 10.6km!!! Not complaining though as that is me covered for my 10k this month.
It really was a great time and we enjoyed "most" of it.
We all decided that we are to come back next year and beat our time. next time "Sergeant Major Matt" may have to come and play too.
Now I am just looking forward to the hardest thing I have been looking forward too for the past few weeks! Tuesday night is RACE night.
30km of high speed torture, pain, adrenaline and excitement! I can't wait.
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