Mud Run Weekend

Eight days ago, I ran in the Mud Factor 5K in Sacramento with Jessica and Erin.  Other than my daily walk through the wild rice fields at work, I can't say that I did much training.  If it weren't for Erin, I doubt I would have gone for a single after-work run to prepare for this run/obstacle course.  But with three entire 3-4 mile training runs since the half marathon in JULY, I was not at all ready.

Jessica came over Friday night and stayed in my guest room (did I mention I now live in a house so big I have a guest room?), and then Erin arrived right before I started believing that she slept through her alarm and was never going to show up, with her friend Caroline who was visiting from the East Coast.  Our run started at 9:00 am and we had so much fun!  I thought I would have gotten muddier but mostly it just stayed on my shoes.  I liked the climbing obstacles the best, and my least favorite part was the slide i.e. trash bag with a tiny bit of water running down it.  At the finish line we were awarded with a Mud Factor medal that doubles as a bottle opener.

Ben and Caroline were excellent spectators as we tore up our knees and filled our shoes with mud that had an unbelievably high gravel content.  After changing our clothes, we rewarded ourselves with some brunch at Shady Lady (coffee, chicken sandwich, blueberry pancakes, toast, bacon, and a Paleo-ish veggie omelet in case you were wondering).

We then parted ways, and I crammed as much bonding time with Law and Order Ben as I could before I left for McArthur, CA for work on Sunday (see previous blog post for the highlights from that trip).