The Bex Factor

Move over Workout Wednesday, it’s time to recap Sunday’s big accomplishment, the Mud Hero! You may remember last year I ran the Spartan Race (which I’m registered for again in August), but this was a newer, dirtier race to Alberta.

I wasn’t sure how it would go when I first signed up, considering I’m pregnant and all, but the more people thought I was crazy and told me I couldn’t do it, the more determined I became to finish. It really started to bug me when people would tell me there was no way I could run a 6km race with 16 obstacles because I was pregnant. Why couldn’t I? I do Crossfit, I lift weights, I run, I do yoga. I’ve done all of those things before I was pregnant and I continued doing them all throughout pregnancy. This race would be no different. Yeah, I’m a slower runner because I get winded easier, yes I can’t lift heavy things like I used to, yes, I realize heights may be a problem because I don’t want to risk a fall. Does that mean give up? No. That means do the best that I can and prove to all the naysayers how friggin wrong they are.

I set out with this race wanting to prove to everyone out there that pregnancy really isn’t a condition and an excuse to sit on your ass being lazy and stuffing your face. Get out, be active, and live your life like normal ladies! As long as your doctor has no concerns, you should be good to go. Mine has continued to tell me I’m free to workout as normal, as long as I’m not overdoing it and listening to my body. So that’s what I do, and that’s why I was determined to cross the finish line at this race.

The day started bright and early as Layne and I set off on our journey to the Rafter Six Resort in Kananaskis. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining! Not so beautiful was the traffic lineup up once we got to the turnoff for the resort.

It took almost 45 minutes to get parked, but thankfully we left with plenty of time. Once we got there I found the rest of my friends and hung out for a bit before our heat which was at 2:30.

30 weeks and ready to run!

Keep Calm and Race On - myself, Ryan, Jasmine and Kevin

I have to give a special shoutout to Bryce from Showdown Merch for making our shirts again this year. He always does a fantastic job and I wouldn’t recommend anyone else if you ever need shirts made!

Before long it was time to say goodbye to Cassandra and Layne who were there to spectate, take pictures and offer moral support (much love and many, many thanks for that you guys!).

And we're off!

The first obstacle was only a couple meters away, a big mud pit to run through!

After getting my feet nice and muddy there was a long stretch to go before I hit another obstacle. My right leg really tightened up, causing me to walk after awhile. It wasn’t until I saw the 1km mark that I worried a little about whether I was going to have to walk the entire thing or not. Luckily I walked out the tightness and was good to go for the rest of the route.

The next two obstacles involved climbing walls which I didn’t attempt. I thought there was a 2 minute time penalty for any skipped obstacles, but seeing I was pregnant, I was always waved through without penalty. Score!

Coming up to the hale bale climbing, I figured I could do it. There were three round bales to climb over. The first two I managed no problem but the third one I just couldn’t get myself up there. I felt bad that I was holding people up behind me and tried to let them go ahead, but instead they helped boost me up so I could get over. They gave me many props for running the race pregnant and were super supportive.

The order of the obstacles gets a little fuzzy here. I think the next one was the Camo Crawl, where you had to army crawl under a net. The downfall to this was there were a lot of rocks so it was a bit painful. At the next obstacle, a cargo net you had to crawl across, I noticed blood running down my leg so I definitely got nicked by a rock while crawling.

There was a water station just passed the 3km mark which was awesome, although I did have an arm band water bottle with me just in case. I asked one of the course attendants what time it was when I was there and it was just after 3 so I had ran the first half in just over half an hour. I thought if I hustled I could try and make the whole course in an hour, so off I went. I may have gotten a comment or two about the pregnant girl passing people, I loved it.

Other obstacles ahead included an uphill tire run and the Mud Bash Balance Beam which ended up being nothing more than a short log across a creek. I totally thought the real balance beam was ahead, but instead it was a super steep and muddy hill.

As you can see traffic was a little thick here at this point, which frustrated me a bit because it was really slow. Alas, these things happen and there’s not much that can be done aside from be patient.

Once I made it over the hill there was a super high cargo net to climb, which I did not attempt. The guy started to hold me for the time penalty but let me go after probably 30 seconds.

There was also the fireman pole in there somewhere that I also didn’t attempt. Not sure how I’d slide down a pole with this belly!

I think after that it was up into the woods for the Spidey Web and Deep Woods obstacles. Spidey Web was crawling through a bunch of ropes tied close together and Deep Woods was heavily wooded area with lots of fallen branches to watch out for.

Once out of the woods there wasn’t much left to go. Just the Car Park, the Hero Slide and of course the best for last, the Mud Pit!

Once out of the mud pit, the finish line was a few steps away and I was awarded my medal!

I finished!

I’m smiling there, but to be honest I was fighting back tears. I was so pumped I finished the race and that I could prove to everyone that I really could do it. It was a very proud moment for myself.

A Mud Hero at 30 weeks

We definitely got down and dirty

I finished in 1 hour 10 minutes which isn’t bad for 6km and 16 obstacles. Last year’s Spartan Race was 5km and 10 obstacles, I finished in 50 minutes and I wasn’t carrying around an extra 25lbs at least. I’m happy with my time, considering the only thing I wanted to do was cross the finish line no matter how long it took me.

I’m so proud of this achievement and hope that it inspires someone else, pregnant or not. If I can do this at 30 weeks pregnant, anyone can do it! It was so much fun and I can’t wait to do it next year. Or maybe in 4 weeks when the Spartan Race rolls around???