I ROCK!

start line

Yesterday, along with my friends: Shauna, Virginia, and Alison (and her friend Lauren)...I ROCKED! 

We (and around 450 other crazy people) participated in the first annual Rockeater Adventure Race!  When signing up, none of us were quite sure what to expect, except that the race would challenge us physically in ways that we probably hadn't ever been challenged before.  <--- THAT was a long sentence!  Yikes!

Shauna and I decided on a Desperate Housewives themed costume because we figured we both run because SOMETIMES we are DESPERATE...and...we thought it'd be fun.  Upon arriving at the Crete Center/City Beach parking area I immediately observed men in tutu's, wonder woman, Things 1 & 2, Jesus (oh yeah), and a myriad of other costumes.  This was a relief because, although the website says that costumes are optional, I feared that we'd be the only group dressed up. 

Running in the water

I checked in, got my race bib and packet as well as a very cool Rockeater Technical Shirt...seriously...it's really cool looking and comfy (I wore it on my way home).  Then we just waited until our wave started.   We watched the 2 and 2:30pm waves - some of the runners were very fast, even in costume.  A woman "runaway bride" wore a full wedding dress to run a 5k adventure race.  Now if any of you were at Al's and my wedding- you'd know that a wedding dress when sopping wet weighs a good 50 or more pounds.  Just ask our dry cleaner!  Crazy!

before the race - Desperate Housewives

3:00pm rolled around, and at the countdown of 10 (plus a few seconds) and the sound of a cannon we were off!  Here are some of the obstacles we faced:

• Running on the beach (which is sand...and is not easy)
• Running through water for a good 1/4 mile or more  (ok...walking...you try running through 2-3 feet of water)
• Jumping over cement barriers
• Jumping through tires 
• Running through cement and hard plastic tunnels (and I actually crawled through those)
• Running over sand dunes
• Jumping over a car
• Running through Adirondack stinky mud (which is very difficult to remove)
• Running through a swampy area and on skinny planks going over/through the pond
• Running over giant dirt mounds with water on either side (that was my favorite obstacle, actually)
• Hopping onto and over giant wooden spools that were on top of a bog-like area 
• Jumping over fire
• Crawling on my belly through the sand
• And a GIANT pit of mud to get to the finish line

All in all - a TOTAL BLAST!!  I was good and wet afterwards but not too muddy and I have a tiny scratch on my knee - which I didn't notice until I washed the dirt off my legs.  My knee with said scratch is also a bit sore - and I am pretty sure that is from when I jumped off the dirt mounds into a mud pit that was a lot deeper than I expected.  I am looking forward to doing it again, but really challenging myself and going at an all out run through it...I didn't push myself too hard as I (and we) weren't quite sure what was coming up next.  

Actually, I'd really like to do the Warrior Dash because really?...who doesn't want to run under barbed wire, over cargo nets, and rappel down a steep slope?  Anyone want to do it with me??