Category: Injuries

On the brink

Tomorrow is the day.

In fact, it’s 9pm here and I am due to check in at the OR tomorrow at 6am. Surgery is scheduled for 745am and after that I am guessing it will be 36-48 hours until I will be back home. Probably then another 24-48 until I could possibly be back here to post an update.

For today, I did go and do a brief bench workout in order to make sure that the bench is set up for my recovery. I have made sure everything I need is at hip height or above and that I have enough pulled pork and home made sugar free bbq sauce to tide me over for at least the next 5 days or so.

I have to admit that I am a little surprised at my nonchalance this time around. I suppose I could be mired in self-pity and anger as I have been in the past however it really wouldn’t do me any good. This time I am scheduled (which makes a difference) with a spinal neurosurgeon rather than being rushed into an emergency department, stuffed into an MRI like so much sausage meat and operated on by the nearest orthopedic surgeon they could find. I suppose I have a little more confidence in my own recovery this time also given my experience / maturity and vastly improved physical condition. As my gym kids told me last night via a very touching greeting card, I am one tough cookie and I suppose this new attitude is a reflection of that.

I will be back to comment some more, I am hoping my optimism will have proven accurate and I will be on the mend and able to post banal and monotonous updates rejoicing in the fact that I was able to make it all the way to the mailbox and back in one go!

Wish me luck…

Countdown to surgery

It’s Monday, I have spent the best part of the last week at home on the floor with a heating pad trying to get rid of the pain radiating from my back down my leg and through my hips. The initial pain that was in the right shin is gone, leaving a drop foot that I can only hope and pray isn’t permanent. The pain in the back is actually gone now however I can feel the near impingement almost every time I move. It’s as if the scar tissue that is apparently at fault is resting against the nerve just waiting to press against the root causing the familiar screaming pain. As far as trying to stay in shape before the surgery itself I have been able to do very little. Last week I managed to bench one day and do a small bicep workout another day. I have broken out the EMS unit I used back in early 2003 when I had my original surgery. Although my documentation of that time in my life is not great, I do have some information that I found:

What started out as a simple herniation of the disc creating pressure on the spinal nerves which causes an effect somewhat similar to Scoliosis developed into a severely displaced disc fragment that impacted the sciatic nerve. This caused excruciating pain down my right gluteus, into the quadriceps and terminating in the knee. When the cortisone injections into my spine did not help the situation, it was determined form both a CT and an MRI that surgery was going to be necessary to remove the portion of the annulus that was touching the nerve root. This was in preference to a discectomy that would have required removal of part of the nucleus of the disc in order to reduce the overall size of the disc. Most procedures that are available to patients with severe herniations are effective over time but require the procedure to be performed while the disc is healthy and normal. Even the newest and most promising procedure, referred to as “Percutaneous Microdecompressive endoscopic Spinal Discectomy with New laser Thermodiskoplasty for Non-Extruded Herniated Nucleus Polposus” as it’s name suggests requires that the disc be in a non-extruded state.So my options were limited, and under the trusted care of Dr. ****** I went in for surgery on New Year’s Eve 2002 at 4pm.
Since the surgery, I am glad to report that the localized pain is gone both in the spine and the thigh. However, there is still pain in the knee and much of the strength in my upper leg is gone. I left the hospital on crutches, unable to support any weight on my right leg. I am happy to report that I am now able to support myself without the use of crutches, however I am unable to climb even the smallest of steps. Much of the loss of feeling in my leg has also returned, however from the top of the knee I still have little or no tactile sensation. It is normal for this numbness to remain up to 9 months after sciatic nerve injury, and from what I have read, it is normally 6 to 8 weeks before the pain is completely gone and normal strength returns.Since walking requires very little bending of the knee, I am able to walk without crutches for short distances (a hundred feet or so), however any incline or decline which requires strength from the quadriceps is impossible to negotiate without crutches.

I will continue to post some of the information I can find from last time, however the most significant difference this time is that I will be going in as a scheduled surgery with a neurosurgeon named Dr. Lo at St. Mike’s in Toronto rather than being admitted on an emergency basis screaming in pain and having to be rendered unconscious in order for the techs to get me into the MRI machine.

So what happened? I hear you ask. Well, it’s a long and as usual confusing story. I wrote about the initial effects already but it’s now days later and the foot drop is still there, in fact it seems worse than in the beginning. I had the MRI, I was then told I needed to go and see a neurosurgeon to get a professional opinion. Almost as soon as Dr Lo saw the MRI he knew it was going to require surgery. I asked about the disc replacement and also the idea of fusion however his indication was that since there is no misalignment of the spine that fusion is unnecessarily risky and that disc replacement surgery would be massive overkill. He told me that the success of the initial surgery is 90% but the success of follow up repeated surgery is only 75%. However, not having the surgery would almost certainly lead to permanent disability. So I am booked in for Wednesday, I have a 3-5 hour pre-op appointment for Tuesday and once that is done I should know a little more about what is to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serious Injury Time

It’s that time of my life again. I am thoroughly petrified at the thought of having done serious damage to my body by another back injury. It was nothing of note, just some soreness and hip pain but after doing a cardio workout on Sunday my back felt very sore. That night I took Elyse to the bathroom and felt a painful twinge in my back. I took the next day off work and lay on a heating mat all day and took my pills. However, the end result once I was able to stand up was what seemed like massive shin splints in my right leg. However, I had lost about 75% of the lifting strength in my shin, causing my foot to droop. I am currently not able to walk properly, I can’t keep my foot elevated as I walk so my foot slaps against the ground as I walk. My doctor confirmed it is the same palsy as drop foot and did not give me any indication as to whether it would heal. Since I never recovered my thigh mass from the surgery and never recovered my hand feeling from my shoulder injury I am understandably scared that I may have a life long nerve damage that will cause me to limp for the rest of my life. The thought of never being able to run properly or maybe even do any kind of lower body work with any regularity makes me sick with worry. I know I am only on day 3 of this injury but the fact that I am still unable to walk properly is very frightening. This morning the pain was also back in my hip, I have to assume it’s part of whatever muscle thread was damaged by the pinch and the other muscles now are fighting to pick up the slack. I have a feeling I am in for a few weeks of pain and yet more lopsided lower body development.

This sucks. I really wish I had been fused the first time so that this pinch would have not had the ability to happen again. I am suposed to be going for an MRI and also to see a neurologist and a spinal surgeon. It may be time to go under the knife voluntarily this time to get this issue fixed for good.  I guess only time will tell but I can tell you that this time I will be pushing for a solution, not a band aid. My fear is that another spinal event could leave me with a paralyzed foot, or worse, some paralysis affecting my bladder or bowels. I know that disc replacement is common now where it was in it’s infancy when I had my original surgery and that alone gives me a little ray of hope from a surgery perspective.

Monday April 8

Abs and legs Crossfit style

20-30-40-30-20

Full crunch
VDSnap
Box jump
Squat
full situps
side crunch
1 leg squat
step switch

Wednesday April 10

Body Beast – Supervised not led

Biggest Loser – About To Commit Crimes Against Children??

It’ s all over the news about The Biggest Loser having kids between 11 and 17 on the show this season and while I am sure (at least I hope) that the approach will be radically different than that of the adults I still think that this is a very dangerous ratings grab. Much of my feeling is echoed by the following article but my overwhelming feeling is that these kids are going to be taught, purposefully or not, that exercise is something that takes work, dedication, pain and long term suffering. That’s simply not the message we should be sending. Although I agree that if these kids are obese and sedentary, they should be shown that there is a price to pay for their lifestyle, I am just not so sure that Ms. Michaels is the one to tell them. I am afraid that from a coaching perspective and someone who has coached kids 11-17 for many years that this could be TV’s next great trainwreck. Let’s hope for the kids’ sake it isn’t and that rather than using the treadmills and weights that these kids are out playing in the outdoors and having fun while learning that movement is preferable to watching TV. I would hate for the first exposure to exercise for a child would be a treadmill and a body bug.

http://www.athleticrevolutionsouthshore.com/biggest-loser-to-train-kids/

R9D28 – Bootcamp 2.5.2 – Bodyweight

Bootcamp was a fun time last night, another piece of hard work but some stuff we haven’t done in a while specifically some hip raises forhamstrings which left my hammies screaming. The big news though was one of my girls sprained her ankle on bars, luckily it should be fine but there were tears that’s for sure. Fortunately we are far enough from competition that I think it will be a non issue.

Here is the workout:

10 regular pushups
10 military pushups
10 sphinx to plank step or drop
10 pushup side raise
10 pullups

10 air squats reg
10 2 way lunge front and side
10 1 leg squat knee raise
10 air squats half bounce
10 pullups

20 in and out row
20 roll to boat hold
20 bicycle with leg extension
20 arms up in and out
20 pullups

10 pushup
10 clap pushup
10 plyo pushup
10 pushup side raise toe touch
10 pullups

ONTO BOXES AGAINST WALL

10 dips legs bent
10 dips legs straight
10 dips one leg raised
10 leg lifts

regular pushups 10 decline 10 incline
military pushups 10 decline 10 incline
sphinx to plank step or drop 10 decline 10 incline
pushup side raise 10 decline 10 incline

20 Crunchy Frog
20 superman banana with vsnap
20 laying triple bicycles
20 full situps
10 shoulder hip raise
10 shoulder hold hip raise leg up
10 hip raise alternating arm reach
10 hip raise single shoulder to foot touch

 

R8D54-56 – Unplanned Rest. Your Body Knows Best.

I have said it before, if you don’t get your rest, your body will force you to. I have learned to accept that there will be times when I won’t be able to stick to my 6 day a week regime, that things beyond my control will determine what I am able to do. And nowadays I am fine with that.

This past few days I have spent tethered to the nearest washroom with a stomach bug which has been incredibly unpleasant and has forced me to both rest but also fast for long periods.I’m fine with that too, knowing that Intermittent Fasting is now an accepted method for both health and weight control. Long gone are the days that people said you have to eat breakfast and then 6 small meals in order for your body to maintain it’s metabolic rate. Those ideas have been disproven over again not only by science but also the common sense of knowing our ancient history. We came to be as humans in an environment of hostility, we learned to adapt to the food sources that were available and unfortunately the animals weren’t always available for snack time. It’s common sense then that our body should adapt to feast and famine, that’s the key behind weight gain, after all, it’s your body’s way of stashing food for later knowing that the feast would not usually last.

But I digress.

The only workouts I have been able to do over the last few days were some walking on the treadmill to try and get my stomach to settle down and last night back at the gym for bootcamp moving half a ton of equipment around in order to try and find the most efficient, best looking and space conserving layout. I’m happy about that too, I am not sure that a bootcamp workout wouldn’t have killed me! It’s been a rough few days, but finally I feel like I am back on my feet. I think it’s funny though that I have been complaining recently of being tired, overworked and generally feeling worn out. I suppose it’s no coincidence that my body decided enough was enough and forced me off my feet.

So it’s back to the grind, I know it’s going to be a tough few days, both getting over a sickness and not having worked out but at the very least I know I am nowhere near the overtraining that I was worried about. So I guess it’s back to kettlebells or Olympic lifting tonight and then some pull ups and pushups with the kids at gym tomorrow to get the chest and back working again plus maybe some abs, even though I hate it!

I’m glad I am over the sickness, I am glad for the rest but I know that now it’s payback time.

One of the great pieces of recent news is the addition of a second bootcamp day for the next session. That means I will get an opportunity to introduce some olympic style lifts to the class and do some truly world class strength training. Not only that, we will have a separate area with racks and weights, bosu balls and balance balls and a host of other equipment with which to torture the victims. It’s going to be a lot of work to plan the schedule, but I am really excited to see what a dramatic effect some simple lifting techniques can have on both elite junior athletes and housewives!

By the way, I shocked myself when I saw 228 on the scale yesterday. Too bad I was shrivelled up like a raisin at the time….

R8D49&50 – Aches and Pains

Since I am not working to a schedule and therefore not working in a week of “rest week” workouts I am constantly guessing at my overtraining status. I am sure that I am far from overtrained, but the nagging aches and pains that I get after about 3 weeks of constant working seems to indicate otherwise. This past few days I have been sore, achy, getting constant pains and feeling a little lethargic. I know it’s not my diet, since that basically never changes, but still I feel like I am out of energy. I took what would be considered a rest week a couple of weeks ago, since I took 3 out of 4 days off and did an easy 6k run the other day so I shouldn’t really be feeling this way. I am, however, on day 51 of my 90 days and as I indicated in a recent post that could be the reason. I am too far from either shore to see where I am going or where I have been and I may be psychologically losing my way.

Here’s my cure.

It’s now November 14. I have to take vacation on December 17th and that vacation time will include trips, and Christmas. It’s going to be hectic with the baby and there is a possibility that my workouts may suffer. In order to survive that couple of weeks I need to put in a month of solid work. It’s not even about meeting a weight goal for this year, I am pretty happy with where I am for now. It is more about avoiding the itchy feet I get when I can’t work out during the holidays. So basically I have a 5 week window that will take me to day 84 of this round. I guess that means my time off will coincide with my new plan, whatever that is. And by whatever that is, I mean P90X2 which should have arrived around then. If not, I will need a filler until I get the package. Whatever the deal is, whatever the timing is, I need a plan for the last part of December which will probably include Operation Osmin outdoor “world is your gym” type stuff.

So I need to buckle down and focus on the 5 weeks upcoming to get me out of this funk. I will have around 25-30 workouts to do in total during that time, 5 of which would be bootcamp classes. So I am looking at 20 workouts which isn’t much if you think about it.

I started this post this morning during breakfast and now since it’s dinner time I feel much better. Enough so that I can think about putting together the workout for the kids tonight. I guess my morning aches and pains are not a good indicator of my status… Either that or writing about them is therapeutic!

Days 49 & 50 were pretty simple, if not easy.

49 – RKC Art Of Strength Providence DVD
50 – O-lift practice – Deadlift, chin up,  Strict press, Squat. 5×5 of each.

(I secretly love that my cure for overtraining is to plan more training…)

R7D54-59 – Weekend Away, Injuries And Reviews

Let’s start at the beginning.

Friday was Max Recovery since I had made a discovery that I had never actually done an Insanity recovery workout. It wasn’t too tough, although less of a challenge than I expected and the next day I was sore which tells me that I am not stretching enough during my regular workouts. Saturday we headed out to Niagara Falls and the weekend looked like this:

Friday – Max recovery
Saturday – RKC in the room
Sunday – Off
Monday – RKC on the deck (injury?)
Tuesday – Chest and Back

The workout on Saturday was brief but tough, it was only 30 minutes but I did 34543 ladder with some swings and some snatches thrown in to make up for the lack of chinups. Saturday night we went out to the Casino after a Keg dinner that was tasty but pricey. Sunday was spent on the jet boat tour and in the casino with an amazing dinner at Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse  to follow. We all ate way too much but the food was pretty spectacular. Each time a guy came around with a huge spear of meat it was simply impossible to say no. After 90 minutes of hedonistic meat gorging we wandered back to the hotel and I for one passed out in a meat coma. Monday we drove back to Toronto and spent the day relaxing without the baby which was really odd and tough to get used to. I did a RKC workout on the deck that looked like this:

With 45lb KB

3 rungs with chinups
10 wallball shots
4 rungs with chinups
20 swings
5 rungs with chinups
10 wallball shots
4 rungs with chinups
20 swings
3 rungs with chinups with 70lb KB
20 swings with 70lb KB

At the time I felt pretty good, I had a pretty high workload I thought and I felt fine. In fact, according to Firstbeat, it was the toughest workout I have done with the exception of the day I ran almost 5k in 40 degree heat just to see if my new foot pod worked. The next day however I was very sore, in fact, my body was out of alignment like it is when I have a nerve impingement which made me think that maybe I was going to need another week off. I decided I should work out anyway, taking it easy during my Chest and Back workout and to my relief, my post workout stretch proved tight but also a huge relief. By the end of the day my back was fine and I was back on track.

So what of the reviews?

The Keg – Niagara Falls, Ontario

It’s lobster summer which usually means an attempt to cover their insanely overpriced meals by adding lobster and giving them fancy names. However, nothing, even lobster, is going to soothe the sting of paying $45 for a plate of middle of the road restaurant food. The restaurant was packed, but we were seated quickly and our waitress was very attentive, friendly and happy to get 50% of our order right. Actually to be fair, she did put in the order correctly we can only assume that the kitchen messed up the thing. 2 of our 4 dinners were correct, but Nicole got a salad with no dressing (although she had asked for balsamic dressing which THEY DON’T HAVE!)  and another of our party got a baked potato with her sides nowhere to be found. The problem wasn’t only with the order being wrong, but also with the fact it took 10 minutes to get put right. As I rightly predicted, the manager apologized and offered to pay for desserts for the whole table which we gladly accepted. As far as the food goes, I had ordered the scallops wrapped in bacon followed by the steak topped with lobster seafood mix. Both dishes were acceptable, there was a total of 2 tiny claws of lobster on my lobster dish which was a total rip off but all in all the taste was good.

For dessert I had the cheesecake but in retrospect I wish I’d had the creme brulee. I don’t know about you, but for me the Keg gives me the same feeling every time, the food is good, just good enough that you don’t wan’t to complain about the price but once you leave you realize you just got ripped off. I’m not saying the quality is bad, it’s not, but the prices are all about 20% too high.

 Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours Niagara Falls Ontario

This was an amazing outing. About 45 mintues of the best laughs and thrills you can get while getting completely drenched in river water. Make sure that you plan on a warm day because even with the water being 80 degrees it was still chilly for some. The boat is a massive 3 engined 1500 HP beast that can do 360 degree turns and run level 5 rapids like they are nothing. We learned a bit about the area, the falls and the rapids themselves but the highlight is running downstream through the rapids as the boat scoops thousands of gallons of water over you. It was a great adventure, something I would recommend to anyone going to Niagara. It’ s only $60 per person so it’ s well worth the price, just remember a change of clothes!

Copacabana Brazilian Steak House Niagara Falls Ontario (Website down)

There are plenty of bad reviews for this place but we decided to go anyway since the lure of the place is too strong for a meat freak like me. The only real complaint I had is that the idiot woman who seated us complained that we couldn’t have the table instead of the booth since “everything” was reserved. Obviously she was not thrilled to have to work, didn’t care about us or the way she treated us and was basically your typical asshole twenty something stick insect who thinks the world owes her something because she thinks she is hot. Anyway, the place was pretty fun, loud and filled with good looking waiters and waitresses obviously catering to a younger crowd. The process is that you get some sides from the buffet area and wait for the meat guys to come around and cut meat off their giant skewers onto your plate. There are 17 different kinds of meat on offer and I think we tried them all. As long as you don’t expect a quiet restaurant to chat with friends and you don’t mind a fast paced and energetic vibe you should enjoy yourself here. The meat itself was, for the most part, very good. They have encrusted meats, cheese stuffed meats and good quality steaks on offer. The meat was, I have to admit, salty but not to the degree that it was offputting. The cheese stuffed prime rib was fantastic and I had at least 3 servings of bacon wrapped sirloin! I would definitely recommend that you go at least once, it’s very much like being on vacation in a tropical island, it’s loud, the wait staff are sometimes forgetful but always happy and the place itself is like a tiny getaway. I think we would try the one in Toronto to compare experiences but next time I will have to remember to 24 hour fast before hand. It did take me 2 days to get over the amount I ate, but that is a sign that we all had a great time!

Doubletree Hilton Niagara Falls Ontario

We have stayed here before and obviously since we returned we liked it enough! The room this time was a little bizarre and since we had 4 of us in one room utilizing the pull out couch for 2 of us it was a great experience. For the other 2 however, they were sleeping on a pullout that was barely a double and filled the extra room completely. There was only a single bathroom for all of us and the main room had fixed curtains that blocked the corner windows which I found bizarre. Last time was better, I have to admit, but this time was cheaper overall. I think for the future though it would be worth getting separate rooms. We had breakfast in the hotel on Sunday and once again the buffet was well stocked, had an omelette maker at their own station and the food was good quality, hot and well prepared.

 

 

Warrior Dash Part 3 – The Epilogue

It’s your just reward for a job well done. A $7 turkey leg and, if you like, a free beer for turning in your timing chip. Immediately following the race we were greeted by a finishers medal, a couple paper cups of water and a mountain of bananas. From there we wandered, dazed and exhausted to the “showers” which, I have to admit, I had thought would be like the misting booths at Canada’s Wonderland but were, in fact, two firemen taking an inordinate amount of pleasure in spraying the participants with massive fire hoses. The water was freezing cold and the only thing that really didn’t work for me. It could have been done equally well by feeding the hoses into an overhead tanek and just letting the water cascade down over people like an open shower. The way they did it was inefficient and borderline barbaric which I suppose fits with the theme but was a bit of a harsh ending to an already taxing event. The mud wouldn’t come off without the water and so changing was really the only option. None of these ‘complaints’ dampened my enjoyment of the day I have to admit. The pride I felt in finishing was enough to make me happy no matter what and I think has led me to a new chapter in my life.

Although every male in the 60-65 age category was quicker than me!

That said, if you are going to do this at age 60 or above my bet is you are pretty confident in your ability! This weekend did open my eyes to one thing though. For the last 10 years I have been the guy who had back surgery. I have often used it as a reason, occasionally an excuse and, very rarely, as a crutch. However, the reason for it is only because of the fear of a repeat performance in the hospital. I was never really sure that I had recovered and even though my legs are different thicknesses and probably always will be, it seems that is the only legacy of the event. I can no longer claim that I am not capable of the same things a person who hasn’t had surgery is and although I may still occasionally get sidelined by a careless shoe tying incident, I think I am just as capable and resilient as I ever was.

If this weekend left me with scars, and it definitely left it’s physical mark, then I am also left with an indelible mark on my psyche. It’s the kind of boost no person could ever give me, an undertone of confidence that no fit test could ever provide. It is a shot in the arm for my physicality that could only have been gained by facing up to an epic challenge and regardless of the pain, the exhaustion, the bruises and scrapes, getting up every time I fell down. It’s the raw adrenaline rush gained from crawling through mud to the finish line, getting up and standing proudly over the body of my felled opponent.

It’s a sense of pride that will replace that little piece of herniated disc they took from me so long ago. I’m no longer the guy who had back surgery, I’m proud to call myself a Warrior!

R7D36/7 – Warriors Part Deux

I had my heart rate monitor on but the incessant pounding in my ears was enough to tell me that I was hovering above the 160 mark pretty much the whole way around the 5K course. After we extracted ourselves from the darkness (including bumps on the head) we climbed and descended, jogged and walked our way to the spider obstacle, so called because it resembles getting stuck in a spider web. Unfortunately I was particularly out of sorts when we got there and kind of bulldozed my way through tripping and tying up my fellow runners as I went.

That really outlines my one frustration with the day, I was really looking forward to the obstacles but there was so much damn running that when you got there you were too tired to really enjoy the challenge. I guess being a “better” runner would help but I am so unwilling to go down that training path I would rather find another way.

So far, it was great, we were pretty much completely in the forest, out of the hot sun and still having fun. When we got past the spider webs it was a long run up and down and around to get to the wall climb (I’m pretty sure that was next) which was really a simple 10 foot wall with foot holds and ropes, making it ridiculously easy to traverse. After that came the first really tricky obstacle which was the rope cross. It was a matrix of ropes strung across a frame that you had to navigate and although it was made easier by hanging onto the frame, it was by no means a piece of cake. I would have liked it better had it been a closer mesh that you could actually run across with some spring to it, those are deceptively hard to cross and far more fun. Especially since there was another rope based obstacle later in the race, something slightly different would have been cool.

By this time we were all silent, breathing hard, there were people standing around before and after each obstacle getting their breath back and the race was well and truly taking it’s toll. As we exited the rope nets the really tough climbs began, out in the sun, running up very steep ski hills, the fun part was definitely over. I admit I had to stop halfway up one of the hills, my heart felt like it was about to explode but more than that, I was starting to overheat. Fortunately, at the top of that hill was the water station, where they gleefully told us we were HALF WAY ROUND!!! Excited by the news and the added information that it was “all downhill” from there (a blatant lie!) we barrelled across the top of the hill and towards the first really big descent. Usually this would be a piece of cake, but with the distance already covered, going down a steep hill is just as painful as going up. Quads on fire, pulse racing and feet occasionally giving up their grip it was a harrowing and challenging change of pace. Of course, what goes down must once again go up and the long climb that lay ahead was almost too much to bear. There were participants littering the steep slope, the barely available shadows on the hillside crammed with exhausted and overheated victims. I was soon one of them! Nicole and her friends were racing ahead of me now, of course, Nicole didn’t leave me to suffer, she held herself back to keep me company. If not for me, I am sure she would have finished a good 10 minutes ahead such is her athletic prowess! At the top, we were welcomed by more obstacles, which for me was a welcome change from the monotony of running.

The next few obstacles were a great part of the course, a set of tires, (thanks to Tony for practice with this one!), a mountain of hay bales which was a hoot and a couple of old cars that we got to run across. It was pretty funny watching the boot of one of the cars come open as someone landed witha  thud on the roof, her heart almost jumped out of her chest and she screamed like a kid hearing the ice cream truck! We could sense we were coming to the end, a short gully followed by a sandy hill climb assisted by ropes and wooden footholds once again and we were at the slip and slide, usually a happy and fun activity, this one was more of a plastic covered rock garden where I got multiple contusions and abrasions on my back and butt from the ground under the tarp. Both Nicole and I narrowly missed getting taken out by large out of control individuals whose battle with gravity was obvioulsy completely one sided! Had we made contact, there would no doubt have been copious amounts of bloodshed. Nevertheless it was bringing us closer to the end, which was almost in sight! The end of the slip and slide led us to the rope wall, which to me seemed like it would pose the biggest challenge for most people. Not only the fatigue, but also the fact rope ladders are notoriously hard to navigate. We managed to make it across without issue and were greeted by the sight of hundreds of spectators, two lines of fire blocking our path and the innocuous looking mud pit. We flew across the fire, but on entering the “mud” pit found that much like the rest of the course it was not mud but a muddy mix of gravel and sand which by that time felt like glass shards. The mud was thick, so thick in fact that it took all our strength to make it through. By the time we exited the pit, my shoulders were screaming, my knees were ripped apart but we knew, just by the raising of our tired eyes that we had made it!

58 minutes. About 45 of which was reasonable and the last 15 of which were a complete nightmare. Would I recommend the race? Absolutely! Would I do it again, HELL YEAH! But next time, I’ll be wearing knee protection!