This past weekend Me, Melissa, Emily, and Kennetha were in Oak Mt.'s XTERRA Mud Run
Little did we know it was going to be the hardest day of our lives
Emily decided to step out on this race and concur the 10K for the first time while the rest of us stuck with the 5K.
Here is how our morning started...
Emily had picked up our packets the day before so we wouldn't have to get there Sat. at 6 a.m.
Smart planning
We were just going to meet them before the race
19K was to start at 7
10K at 7:10
5K at 7:15
I met Melissa at the Colonnade at 6:15 and we headed straight there. Once we got off the interstate and on the road to the park, traffic was stop and go for as far as we could see...
GREAT!!!
I couldn't imagine what would be such a hold up... time kept getting closer and closer and I was getting nervous that we were going to miss the race.
After about 25-30 min in traffic we realized what the hold up was... THEY WERE CHARGING EVERY CAR TO GET IN THE PARK!
Seriously, we already paid for the race
We didn't have cash but thankfully she just let us in
The time now is 6:50
Emily and Kennetha were close behind us and Emily was soon to start
(or that's what we thought)
After FINALLY finding a place to park and meeting them, we got our numbers and realized we didn't have pins to pin them on our shirt.
YAY.. we going to hold them the whole time.
I had to go to the restroom so bad but while trying to hurry to get to race, Mel informed me that she heard them YELLING... 5K'ERS LINING UP!!!
WHAT???? WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO LAST!
2 MINUTES
Clearly they changed it at the last minute
Anxiety overtook my body.
Me and Melissa had to sprint to the starting line which wasn't close and then ended up being in the back.. BUH!!
1 MINUTE
This mother and daughter saw that we didn't have pins for our number and both gave us one
Before we could get our breath, the gun went off and it scared me so bad! Heart-rate even higher.
The first couple of minutes on concrete wasn't bad, but we suddenly veered off right not even knowing what we were about to experience
When I think "trail run" I think shade, change of scenery, fun...NO!!!!
Side note: I just bought brand new shoes the other day and it was a HUGE purchase for me. I turned my old shoes in and didn't have another pair to wear and the whole reason I bought them was to run in them, but didn't have a clue what they were bout to encounter. Take a look
There was NO turning back at this point.. I just tried not to be a girl and didn't think about it at the time. I did have my key in my shorts!! Thankfully I didn't put them on my shoe like I usually do..
I didn't really matter though cause right after we got on the trails, we ran through water and mud that was waste deep and I was doing all I could not to fall.
At this point I'm thinking, WONDERFUL, my shoes are now ruined and wet and heavy to make it even harder to run.
What we encountered next would be the start to a LONG LONG 5K
Words can't even describe to you the hills we had to run
I didn't see ONE single person RUN up them.
You couldn't,
You needed poles to help you climb them!
Did I mention there were atleast 10 of these
Wish I would've had a camera for proof
My thighs were on FI-YA
Once I would reach the top of a hill and from complete exhaustion, try to walk down the hill without passing out, you had to literally run because it was so steep going down also.
Try running down steep steep hills dodging trees, rocks, roots, and trying not to slip on the STRAW!
haha
It was a sight to see
My thought was, yep at least an hour on this one and where are the medics that should be camping out in the woods in case someone falls
Another thought while on the run was, this has got to be what hell is like... nothing but hills and heat
I finally saw concrete and thought I had just seen Heaven
They were hollering " COME ON, DOWNHILL FROM HERE AND ONLY HALF A MILE LEFT"
I just kept say HALLELUJAH!
The concrete was a breeze, I refused to stop till I got crossed that Finish line!!!
People were everywhere cheering you on... it was the most encouraging feeling ever
I didn't realize that before I crossed that line I was going to have to go through ONE more waist deep muddy trail where there is FOX 6 NEWS videoing.. How embarrasing
This is Emily about to come through
I made it through and hit the stretch of the finish line, I saw 40 mins and honestly was ECSTATIC!!
Praise Jesus we did it and will NEVER return to Oak Mt. to do another race!
We were all ready to cry!!
Way to go Emily on your first 10K.. you did awesome
I went straight to the hose and cleaned my shoes and much as I could then washed them when I got home.. good as new!!
Thank you Lord
Let's just say we all woke up the next morning and couldn't move
There will be more pictures to follow
What an experience
