Rugged Maniac...

Well – my last and final OCR of 2014 was last Saturday and what a way to go out!

We had a fun group this time around and a virgin!  The usual suspects – Fatima and David, then my sister in law and our friend Shawn.  Taylor jumped on board again and our virgin was my best friend – Libby who as I suspected kicked major ass. 

The other great thing – is this will be the best detailed accurate blog due to Rugged Maniac’s awesome website, race packet, etc.  All the info is there! 

We all met at my pad and headed out in 2 cars.  This was by far my favorite race of the year.  I remember I loved it last year too, but it was even better this year!  Since Lib was breaking her cherry and Taylor was worried about keeping up and Fatima wanted to take it easy since she was going to be doing another race the next day, we opted for a “Party Race.”  We sort of did the Irvine Mud Run this same way.  Take our time, fuck around and take pictures!  I brought my great little digital camera that Fatima gave me that’s supposed to be water proof.  What better way to test it out right?!

Here’s the pre-race shot of our group:

Danelle and Shawn opted to run on ahead so we didn’t see them until the end.  So, our party group was the fab five!  Here we go!

Can’t wait to pop my best friends cherry!!!

We begin!

First up – “Quad Burner”.  Killed it.

I think this might be my favorite picture:

Next up – “Barricades”. Little walls.

Brilliant Libby Photo Bomb

My new profile picture

Next – “Jacobs Ladder”.  Now I don’t have pics of all the obstacles unfortunately because my battery started dying so we started to pick and choose.  This was a big climb thing.  Libby has a fear of heights but she still tackled and conquered these obstacles with the encouragement of us and other racers!

Next – “Trenches”.  These were the same things I remember from last year – scary!  You basically have to run and jump over multiple trenches.  There are a couple that are pretty wide across.  I almost biffed it on one last year, but I did pretty damn good this year!  Hopped over all of them with no problem. 

Next – “Tipping Point”. These were fun.  It was like teeter-totters!  I was surprised at how many people were actually having trouble with these.  Once you got the hang of it, it was all about the quad muscles.  You just basically – teeter in the middle!  Super fun!

"Wait What?"

"Oh got it!"

Another favorite picture!

Next – “Commando Crawl”.  Basically crawling through a tube and mud.  Good times!

Next – “Beam me up!” Another large cargo climb thing. 

Next – “Claustrophobia”.  This is a tunnel you have to squat/crawl through.  It’s a bit long and turns a couple times which makes it fell claustrophobic.  I wasn’t sure Lib would due it since the girl is claustrophobic but she said she’d do it as long as I stayed near her.  She of course – killed it.

Next – “Ninja Escape”.  We should have taken some photos here.  Would have been rad.  It’s just like American Ninja Warrior.  Boards you’re supposed to ninja jump across.  Now – I always thought I would ace this – and I did the 1^st couple, but the last part was farther apart and my little short ass did not quite make it.  Super fun though!

Next – “Leap of Faith”.  You basically jump into water and hope it’s not too deep or cold!  That’s one thing I’d like to point out here – It was so cold last year.   This year was off and on cold, but nothing was too cold at all.  Only got a little chilly a few times in the water but otherwise perfect racing weather!

Next – “The Gauntlet”.  This was fun.  Lesson learned though – go one a time and you’ll make it.  What happened to Taylor, Lib and I was a brilliant comic routine.  We went in that order – well Taylor swung back on of his red things that smacked into Lib who fell back and smacked one into me and Lib and I went tumbling into the water.  It was hilarious.  Between the shot the Rugged guy got and what Fatima was snapping away – hilarity ensued.  A favorite moment for sure!

Here we go!

Dominos!!

Hilarious!

Taylor thought so too!

Next – “Head Scratcher”.  Crawling through mud under barbed wire.

Next – “Napoleon Complex”.  This was a toughie.  It was climbing over a couple of walls, but they were tall walls and the board you grab on to, to hoist yourself up had no lip.  No one could get a grip and honestly I don’t think most people can get over without help.  Taylor stepped up and basically let me use him as a tree to climb over.  He and David then helped Libby over.  The next wall David hoisted me over and tried not to step too hard on his shoulder with my cleated shoes.  Thanks boys!!!

Next – “Pack Mule”.  You’re handed a 25lb or 50lb bag you hoisted over your shoulders and have to carry around in a U shape through ankle deep water.  It was fun, but as I type this I realize I never saw the pictures.  Damn!  I actually posed for the photographer here but now I’m realizing they must not have come out.  Bummer.

Next – “Waterworks”.  Up and over or under tubes in muddy water.

Next – “Balance or Bust”.  Balance Beam.  I recall us all getting across. 

Next – “Lets Cargo”.  Another large cargo climb.  

So proud of her!!!!

Next – “The Ringer”.  Rings!  Now I thought I’d do better on these than I did.  They were soooooooooooooo slippery!!  I made it a few but went down pretty quick.  Just too damn slippery.  I think David made it across though.  He said his row wasn’t as slippery.  You see him killin it below.

Got Shawn's professional shot!

Killed it

Not me!  Damn!

Next – “Speed Trap” – running through muddy waters.

Next – “Frog Hop”.  Now – this was my moment of glory!  You can see me debating how to do it in the pic below.  Only Taylor, David and I did it.  Almost everyone was falling off.  I watched for a few minutes and realized you had to just run really fast across them.  People were making the mistake of stopping/hesitating or trying to go slow.  No good.  I of course also got a little shot of adrenaline because we were now near the finish and there were a lot of spectators watching this one.  I of course wanted to nail it.  So – I just went.  I shot across super fast, landed on the other side and heard the crowd cheer and applaud.  Such a great rush.  Sadly no photo though.  I was on the other side of the main photographer and Fatima teased me saying I went too quick for her to catch a shot.  Oh well.  You see David killing it below.  He also got lots of cheers.  That’s right folks – not many were making it!  Taylor made a great effort and you see he has no regrets – that’s a smile of a winner!

Killin it!

I swear this is what I looked like too!

Valiant effort by Taylor but as you see above - all laughs!

Love this shot!

Go D!

Go Shawn!

Next – “Antigravity” another favorite.  There were tramploines that you jumped down on then it sprung you to a wall with cargo rope.  You looked like bugs or something splatting up against the wall.  It was hilarious and super fun!  Loved this one!

Before I move along I must share the raddest picture of D.  BAM!

Next’ – “Slippery Slope”.  Now.  Here was my one major injury.  Luckily it was near the end.  So basically – there’s a wall set up sort of like a skateboard ramp.  You just run like hell towards it and up.  If you’re a fucking ninja you can maybe get to the top with no help.  If you’re like 95% of the rest of population you hope to get high enough that the group of people at the top grab your hands/arms as you leap up.  Only David and I attempted it.  As we got up there Danelle had already finished and called us over to advise to make sure you run and keep your hands up in the air.  Cool.  Away I went.  Up I leaped.  The two guys grabbed my hands.  In a matter of probably 3 seconds.  Left side dude lost grip.  I slammed into the wall – wind knocked out of me.  Right side dude lost grip.  Down I went.  I crumbled down at the bottom and it hurt to breathe.  

 

Ouch

I staggered off to the stairs (where you go if you didn’t want to attempt the wall) and hobbled up.  David tried a few times and eventually got it.  I unfortunately could not cheer him on as I was trying to finish the last 2 parts of the race before my injury got worse since I wasn’t quite sure what I did.  When I got to the top I paused briefly to get my wind back.  Taylor, Lib and I climbed the final cargo climb and then there’s a huge slide that’s the end of the race.  We went down together and the pictures are kind of sad because that’s not joy in my face, that’s pain!  Ouch!  

Whoohoo!

I thought I was just happy!

But no...I was hurting

So sad.

Love this picture too! Ha ha!

We waited for Fatima/David and I tried to asses my damage I was worried I broke a rib, but it looks like I had just bruised it.  Thank GAWD. 

We finished together.

This race was set up nicely that there always seemed to be a water obstacle after a mud one so we weren’t too bad at the end.  I opted not to rinse off since it was getting chilly.  We all found a table in the beer garden, ate burgers and fries and funnel cake and chatted with this hilarious woman who was getting drunk and headed out. 

Stopped for the last group shot:

So proud of this one!

Rugged Maniac 2014 Finishers

And home we went.

Rugged Maniac is my favorite of the year by far.  I would love to try it full bore and see how fast I do it.  I think I could do pretty well!  I plan on picking a race next year and pushing it full just to see how fast I can go.  I love our party races and the Weeples are fun but once I do want to test myself.  We’ll see.  I plan on doing Rugged again next year for sure!  Such a great group this race.  We had an absolute blast together!  Taylor did so well!  Libby rocked her 1^st OCR and Fatima and David as always did fantastic!  Good bye to another year of OCR fun!!!

Aroooo!!!!

Halloween Pictures

So my dear friend Jay & fellow Halloween Whore text me a Halloween image almost every day in October.  I of course saved them all :)

So I post them below with a few of my responses.

Enjoy my fellow Halloween Fans!!

Agent Orange?

I got this one when I was sick and I said that's about how I feel

Seriously described this sickness

Awwwww sad zombie!

This one creeped me out the most.  I don't know why but scares the shit out of me!

Love this effect!!

I responded to the above photo with this

Final Gladiator, Dark Harbor and the plague...

I did it!

I did 3 Gladiator Rock N Run’s in one year and earned myself the “Beast” medal!

This was Fatima’s wild idea last year and I totally jumped on board.  Unfortunately I was sick as a dog.  It’s that time of year I suppose when most of the human race gets nailed with some sort of Cold/Flu.  And no – I did not get a Flu Shot.  I don’t buy em.  I did it one year and got sicker than I’ve ever got and got more sick than I did any other year.  So no.  No flu shot for me. 

The Wed before Saturday’s Gladiator I had a scratchy throat that night and I was exhausted. I knew it was coming.  You’re most contagious the 1^st 48 hours.  I was a good little girl and stayed home from work Thursday and Friday, staying in bed, hydrating, taking Zicam, doing all the shit you’re supposed to do when you’re sick.

Sat – Gladiator arrives.  No, I probably shouldn’t have done it.  But I was already sick.  I wasn’t getting better and the virus had already attached itself to my body.  I was fucked.  If it was any other race I would have skipped it, but this was my third damn Gladiator and I was going to get that Beast Medal if it killed me!  So I did.

Since I wasn’t “feeling it” really.  I forgot to take any pre-race shots.  They had a giant warm up session that I attempted and realized how crappy I was feeling.  Fatima, Nancy (who was also getting over being sick) and David and I headed out the starting line together.  I tried jogging a bit but my lungs burned and I was coughing every other breath it seemed. 

This Gladiator was at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena and our 1^st obstacle was going up and down the stadium stairs 4 fucking times!  I normally wouldn’t post such a crappy picture of myself but it’s so sad.  You can tell I was so sick.  My nose was burning and I was feeling miserable.

After that we headed out to the Dumpster Dive.  It was much easier this time around thanks to David hoisting our asses out of the thing.  Now time for fuzzy remberances.  I’ll try to be brief:

·         Some kind of chain link fence thing we wiggled under.  On the ground was plastic so we zipped through that pretty quick on our backs.

·         Walked for what seemed like forever out and back.  Lots of dust.  Not good for sickie girl. 

·         Climbing walls – check.

·         Monkey Bars – learned that the gloves actually make it harder for me.  I fell off half way thru but hopped back on to finish.  Next time I won’t wear my gloves.

·         Crawled through some tubes and mud.  Always mud.
-     Cinder Block Burpees - nailed.

·         Hopped over Barricade things.  I usually hop over these no problem, but for some reason I nailed my shin on one of them and have a nasty wound to boot.  Ouch.

·         Carried the bag (Buddha’s Burden) around a building.  They were actually heavy this time.

·         Cargo climbs – easy.

·         Then there was this weird Weeple Wriggle they called it.  It was some weird seatbelt like thing that you crawled under on your back.  It was pretty rough on your back and it was so low, it was not an easy obstacle.

·         Hopped over some busted up cars – fun!

·         And of course the Beast Wall.  Funny thing – I aced it!  I think it’s because it wasn’t as muddy and the soap they had applied to make it slippier had dried enough.  I went over the thing like a pro!  When I crawled over I turned and looked shocked down and Fatima and David and let out a pained holler (it hurt to yell – stupid cough).  I was stunned and stoked!  They also sailed over it like it was nothing.

Then of course the always fun mud obstacle.  These pictures are always my favorite and I don’t look as sick here.  

Muddy David

Muddy Nancy.  That's me helping her.  Her hair kept getting stuck!

Muddy Fatima

Muddy me

Mudd apparently makes me laugh

We all four crossed the finish line together.

Afterwards we hung around for a bit, did the Brommers soap hose down thing, and took some fun photos.

This pic was actually in the Thank You Email that went out from Gladiator!  It said "Gladiators showing off their bling!"  Fatima and Maryanne had the good idea to bring all the medals...Nancy and I did not..oops!

Dan Nitro and the gals

David loving the ladies

I'm a Beast!!

We headed out, David and I grabbed In & Out (I love a good burger after a race) then I promptly showered and went back to bed.

Sunday evening I attended the wedding of Jack and Robert that was absolutely lovely but it was outside and it was cold.  Jewish ceremonies are so interesting and beautiful and I was so glad I went but when I awoke Monday morning I felt horrible.

 

I made it through most of the work day but went home coughing daggers.  Tuesday landed at the doctors was given antibiotics and been recovering since.

My favorite holiday – Halloween - was spent drinking tea alone watching horror movies with the girls.

This past weekend I skipped one of my favorite events – Noches de Altares since Taylor had purchased us tickets to Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary.  Since I’m not a 100% I didn’t want to risk two outdoor night events in a row and Dark Harbor was paid for so that won out.

 

Taylor was worn out for a big work event all weekend so we planned an early night.  Dark Harbor isn’t one of my favorites.  It’s always too crowded and the mazes just aren’t up to par.  We did have fun though.  His tickets had front of the line access so we never waited too long.

He paid extra for the extra event we thought was a tour but when we had to sign a waiver realized it was another interactive experience.  I actually enjoyed it for the most part.  The best being we were down in the bowels of the Queen Mary.  Down in the engine room.  We saw the haunted hatch 13.  It was all super creepy and super cool.  We were put in the haunted changing stalls and the ones across from us moved (There were 6 in our group).  We had one guy freak out who I thought was part of the bit but actually was just a dude who was really claustrophobic.   We then had to crawl through a really dark drainpipe thing and couldn’t see shit.  I kept getting my scarf stuck.  (I was so not dressed for this).  Taylor was “sacrificed” and we had to find him.  It was all very cute and fun, but nothing too dramatic.  My favorite part was when we went under this weird area of the boat and it was inside but outside and we saw the giant boat propeller under the water.  It was so spooky and cool!  The little ghost gal came to scare everyone and we were all so enthralled by the site we didn’t run away. Finally someone shrieked and we jogged out.  They guy said we were the slowest evacuators ever.  Ha ha!

Taylor and I were actually able to hit all the mazes and be out by 10pm.  It was fun but doesn’t hold a candle to Universal or really even Haunt.  We had a ball though and I thank Taylor for choosing me as his buddy to go!  The end of another Halloween season has come.  I’m a little bummed I had to stay in on Halloween and miss Noches but dammit did I do a lot of cool shit this year!!!   Knotts Haunt, Hayride, Universal, Delusion and now Dark Harbor!  So much fun!!

Hopefully I’m on the mend now.  The cough is still lingering and my nose is still a little pissed off but I’m going to try to fall back into my normal routine again starting tonight.  Stay well my friends and on to the Thanksgiving and Xmas holidays!  Yikes!!!