This is my personal review of the Tough Mudder weekend, including my thoughts, how I went and everything else that happened (including the non Mudder related) on the weekend. You may be more interested in reading my review of the actual event, rather than my weekend. That can be found here. That focuses more on the event, how it went, what was good and what was bad.
Saturday Lap 1 Bib: 14643 Start: 8:15 Finish: 10:30 Time: 2hrs 15min Obstacles: 19 Distance: 18km Weather: Heaviest downpour of rain for a very long time in Queensland | Saturday Lap 2 Bib: 14645 Start: 11:00 Finish: 14:15 Time: 3hrs 15min Obstacles: 19 Distance: 18km Weather: Even worse rain than first lap |
111 days.
111 days since my last run around the Tough Mudder track, over in Auckland New Zealand. You know how long that is for someone with a Tough Mudder addiction?
2664 hours
159840 minutes
9.59e+6 seconds … I think I may have broken Google asking that question …
It’s a damn long time, that’s what it is! So the feeling of being in the starting gates for the second wave of the Sunshine Coast Tough Mudder was tremendous! But let’s go back a little bit, before we move onto the actual event.
111 days since my last run around the Tough Mudder track, over in Auckland New Zealand. You know how long that is for someone with a Tough Mudder addiction?
2664 hours
159840 minutes
9.59e+6 seconds … I think I may have broken Google asking that question …
It’s a damn long time, that’s what it is! So the feeling of being in the starting gates for the second wave of the Sunshine Coast Tough Mudder was tremendous! But let’s go back a little bit, before we move onto the actual event.
The day before, Friday at 11.50am, the Tough Mudder Tour crew were scheduled to fly up to the sunny Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australia with Jetstar. 3 hours before our flight, we were informed by a text message that our flight had been cancelled. Not a phone call, a bleeding text message. Fantastic customer service there, Jetstar. After frantically calling around, and jumping on the internet, we were able to reschedule to a Qantas flight, leaving about an hour earlier, and flying to Brisbane instead of the Sunshine Coast. We were, however, given a free bus ride from Brisbane to our original destination, Maroochydore airport. That sort of makes up for all the hassle Friday morning, right?
So after a fairly uneventful plane and bus ride up North, we eventually picked up our car (a little Nissan Micra, with absolutely no grunt what so ever) and heading to our accommodation for the weekend. We booked a unit with AirBnB online, and it was a pretty nice place. Had everything you could want for a Tough Mudder weekend – that being a shower and bed. The best part about this place was that it was only 15 minutes from the Mudder course, a real selling point for us.
Friday night, and the usual pre Mudder rituals were happening – Big carb-y dinner, downing the Gatorade, few stretches and an early bedtime.
So after a fairly uneventful plane and bus ride up North, we eventually picked up our car (a little Nissan Micra, with absolutely no grunt what so ever) and heading to our accommodation for the weekend. We booked a unit with AirBnB online, and it was a pretty nice place. Had everything you could want for a Tough Mudder weekend – that being a shower and bed. The best part about this place was that it was only 15 minutes from the Mudder course, a real selling point for us.
Friday night, and the usual pre Mudder rituals were happening – Big carb-y dinner, downing the Gatorade, few stretches and an early bedtime.
Saturday morning we woke up, full of energy and pumped to go – until we looked outside, and saw the torrential downpour. We later found out that the average rainfall is 76.2mm/month in Caloundra. On the Saturday there was 25mm in an hour, and that was constant throughout the day. If there was no mud before, there certainly was after that rain!
Breakfast, getting ready, and driving to the course all happened rather quickly. We parked in the middle of a paddock, a very long way from the start line, and walked the 15 minutes to the Mudder Village. Once there, the usual stuff happened – waivers, bib collection, getting ready for the days’ worth of Tough Mudder.
Once everything was done and ready, I jumped into the wave, and found that, as per usual, we were late and had missed the first wave of the day. This was the 8.15 wave, which wasn’t that much of a worry, the only thing was that I had 15 minutes less to complete my first lap, to get back in time before, at the latest, the final wave to start my second lap. For those who don't know, my plan for the weekend was to run 2 laps on Saturday and 1 lap on Sunday. With the last wave around midday on Saturday, I had to complete my first lap before then to jump in the last wave, so 4 hours maximum. I knew I could do that easy, but I didn’t want to take it easy – Tough Mudder is about pushing yourself. There is no point in walking around the course, no point in bypassing the obstacles because they are too hard. Why spend all that money just to walk for 20km and do nothing else? You can do that at home for free.
So after the pump up guy (who looks oddly similar to the pump up guy in Melbourne earlier this year, and I’m sure will look awfully similar to Perth, Sydney and Adelaide Mudders later in the year too) pumped us up to the tune of Eminem’s Lose Yourself, we recited the Tough Mudder pledge (which I can say I know by heart now), we set off for the second wave of Tough Mudder Sunshine Coast 2014.
Breakfast, getting ready, and driving to the course all happened rather quickly. We parked in the middle of a paddock, a very long way from the start line, and walked the 15 minutes to the Mudder Village. Once there, the usual stuff happened – waivers, bib collection, getting ready for the days’ worth of Tough Mudder.
Once everything was done and ready, I jumped into the wave, and found that, as per usual, we were late and had missed the first wave of the day. This was the 8.15 wave, which wasn’t that much of a worry, the only thing was that I had 15 minutes less to complete my first lap, to get back in time before, at the latest, the final wave to start my second lap. For those who don't know, my plan for the weekend was to run 2 laps on Saturday and 1 lap on Sunday. With the last wave around midday on Saturday, I had to complete my first lap before then to jump in the last wave, so 4 hours maximum. I knew I could do that easy, but I didn’t want to take it easy – Tough Mudder is about pushing yourself. There is no point in walking around the course, no point in bypassing the obstacles because they are too hard. Why spend all that money just to walk for 20km and do nothing else? You can do that at home for free.
So after the pump up guy (who looks oddly similar to the pump up guy in Melbourne earlier this year, and I’m sure will look awfully similar to Perth, Sydney and Adelaide Mudders later in the year too) pumped us up to the tune of Eminem’s Lose Yourself, we recited the Tough Mudder pledge (which I can say I know by heart now), we set off for the second wave of Tough Mudder Sunshine Coast 2014.
After a kilometre, us Mudders ran into Kiss of Mud, so we got down low and crawled through the deep muddy mud, trying not to let the barbed wire inches above our heads tear us apart. From there we continued on for another 10 minutes, to everyone’s favourite obstacle - Arctic Enema. I've never personally had any trouble with this ice bath. Yes it’s cold, yes it’s a very big shock once you put your head under the water, but really, what damage does it do to you? You’re only in the water for 10 seconds max, and then you’re off running to warm up. Although I do have to say, for us men, it does send your boys up into your stomach though!
From Arctic Enema, the next obstacle down the road was the brand new Sewerage Outlet. This is the one of the few obstacles premiering in Australia this year, and as TMtour2014 haven’t done an Obstacle Series post on this obstacle, I had no idea what to expect. Basically, you just crawl and pull yourself up on your back through a tube at like 45 degrees, until you pop out, and fall/dive a few metres into the muddy water below. The fall is easy enough, but the crawl/pull up the tube could be difficult for those with not as much upper body strength. Luckily I’m a beast, and ploughed right through this new obstacle!
Hold Your Wood came up next, and with all my training with my logs back home in Melbourne, I completely blitzed this obstacle, even running the whole few hundred metres with my log, as everyone else just walked. Continuing on on my run, the first real challenge came up for the day – the brand new Pole Dancer. Once again I had no idea what to expect, except what I’ve seen in photos from American Tough Mudders. So it’s just two poles, about two feet apart, rising to the halfway point, and then dipping to the end, all over water. The aim is to use only your arms, and manoeuvre yourself to the other side without touching the water. Much harder than it sounds. Over the weekend, I failed this obstacle twice, both times just almost making it half way, then slipping and falling into the water below. I was really bummed about that. Nothing beats me, not normally, but Pole Dancer really got one over me that weekend. I don’t know how, but I will practice the hell out of it for the remaining three Mudders this year, and conquer it every single time!
The next few obstacles came and went (Glory Blades, Quagmire), all the while running and keeping a cracking pace. I didn’t help as many people as I usually do over obstacles, as I had a time limit I had to keep to, and I knew that I could help more people on my second more relaxed lap.
Then came Leap of Faith, the obstacle that I was most worried about this weekend. Jumping from the platform, over the water, catching and holding onto the bottom of a cargo net, then pulling yourself up the net with only your arms, until you can get your feet on it. With my bung shoulder, I didn’t even bother with this at Melbourne Tough Mudder. I had no idea if I would even be able to pull myself up the cargo net this time around either. So, in usual fashion, I just jumped without thinking. Stuck the landing perfectly, if I don’t say so myself. Then one hand at a time, I climbed up the net, got my feet stuck in, and climbed over the top. I made it, absolutely destroying it in the process! I have never been happier to complete a Tough Mudder obstacle in my life!
After that heroic Leap of Faith, I ran off feeling over the moon. Couldn’t wipe the stupid grin of my stupid face! Then in the distance, I could see the Berlin Walls. Bye bye stupid grin! From a far, they don’t look too bad, but the closer I got, the more menacing they became. Once I got right underneath the first one, it towered over me. As I was by myself at this point, I had no other option then to scale it all by myself, something that I haven’t done in any of my previous 6 Tough Mudders.
I surprised myself – I killed it! Got over both walls in seconds, without any help. Destroyed it! I was pretty chuffed with that, I must say. The last two obstacles had really put me in a killer mood, and I happily ran along on my merry way.
By this point, it was about half way through the course. Around the next turn, and I came across the brand new Hangin’ Tough, the Gladiators style swinging rings. As a champ of the Funky Monkey from previous Mudders, I thought this would be a piece of cake. With my nonstop running up to this point, I had been on my own for quite a while - it had been a good 15 minutes since I saw another participant. The crowd at Hangin’ Tough was pretty big, including my photographer Laura. She was more than happy to capture my failure at this obstacle.
Hold Your Wood came up next, and with all my training with my logs back home in Melbourne, I completely blitzed this obstacle, even running the whole few hundred metres with my log, as everyone else just walked. Continuing on on my run, the first real challenge came up for the day – the brand new Pole Dancer. Once again I had no idea what to expect, except what I’ve seen in photos from American Tough Mudders. So it’s just two poles, about two feet apart, rising to the halfway point, and then dipping to the end, all over water. The aim is to use only your arms, and manoeuvre yourself to the other side without touching the water. Much harder than it sounds. Over the weekend, I failed this obstacle twice, both times just almost making it half way, then slipping and falling into the water below. I was really bummed about that. Nothing beats me, not normally, but Pole Dancer really got one over me that weekend. I don’t know how, but I will practice the hell out of it for the remaining three Mudders this year, and conquer it every single time!
The next few obstacles came and went (Glory Blades, Quagmire), all the while running and keeping a cracking pace. I didn’t help as many people as I usually do over obstacles, as I had a time limit I had to keep to, and I knew that I could help more people on my second more relaxed lap.
Then came Leap of Faith, the obstacle that I was most worried about this weekend. Jumping from the platform, over the water, catching and holding onto the bottom of a cargo net, then pulling yourself up the net with only your arms, until you can get your feet on it. With my bung shoulder, I didn’t even bother with this at Melbourne Tough Mudder. I had no idea if I would even be able to pull myself up the cargo net this time around either. So, in usual fashion, I just jumped without thinking. Stuck the landing perfectly, if I don’t say so myself. Then one hand at a time, I climbed up the net, got my feet stuck in, and climbed over the top. I made it, absolutely destroying it in the process! I have never been happier to complete a Tough Mudder obstacle in my life!
After that heroic Leap of Faith, I ran off feeling over the moon. Couldn’t wipe the stupid grin of my stupid face! Then in the distance, I could see the Berlin Walls. Bye bye stupid grin! From a far, they don’t look too bad, but the closer I got, the more menacing they became. Once I got right underneath the first one, it towered over me. As I was by myself at this point, I had no other option then to scale it all by myself, something that I haven’t done in any of my previous 6 Tough Mudders.
I surprised myself – I killed it! Got over both walls in seconds, without any help. Destroyed it! I was pretty chuffed with that, I must say. The last two obstacles had really put me in a killer mood, and I happily ran along on my merry way.
By this point, it was about half way through the course. Around the next turn, and I came across the brand new Hangin’ Tough, the Gladiators style swinging rings. As a champ of the Funky Monkey from previous Mudders, I thought this would be a piece of cake. With my nonstop running up to this point, I had been on my own for quite a while - it had been a good 15 minutes since I saw another participant. The crowd at Hangin’ Tough was pretty big, including my photographer Laura. She was more than happy to capture my failure at this obstacle.
So I failed at another obstacle. I had gone from feeling on top of the moon after Leap of Faith and Berlin Walls, to kicking myself as I continued my run. Was not happy at this point, but I knew I had to push on, and just be satisfied with trying the rings again next lap.
Mud Mile, Cliff Hanger and Walk the Plank went along as you’d expect, a little too easily for my liking. But after that, the most well-known obstacle stood in my path, Everest. In Mudders past, just like the Berlin Walls, I have not been able to achieve greatness on Everest without other peoples help. Tough Mudder had done a sneaky this event, and placed a big puddle a few inches deep, and quite a few metres wide right at the bottom of Everest, so that no matter what, your feet would be sopping wet while trying to scale the beast. However, this did not stop me. Having wrote the Everest Obstacle Series post weeks ago, I knew exactly what I had to do, and that was keep running as fast as I can, right up to the top. Even if someone’s hand is hanging down for you, and you think you can reach it, don’t stop running – run another two steps up to make sure you get up there. But I didn’t need any help. First try, and I made it all the way to the top, barely using my arms even, as I ran so hard and far up the quarter pipe that another step or two, and I could have walked right over the top of it. Back to high spirits again, let me tell you!
From the top of Everest, I could see the end of the course very close by, with only a couple obstacles in between me and eternal glory (and the start of my second lap). At this point I had no idea how long I had been running, whether it had been 1 hour or 4 – I can never tell the duration of my runs, it all blurs into one continuous thing. So I climbed down Everest, and ran off to the Legionnaires Loop.
The Legionnaires Loop in this event contained 3 obstacles that first time Mudders are unable to try (until they complete their second Mudder). The first was a very long Kiss of Mud, twice maybe even three times as long as the first KoM. This was hell on my forearms, as there was quite a bit of rocks and jagged edges underneath the mud and water that was slowly rising with every minute due to the down pour which had been happening all day so far.
Then came a sneaky little tunnel crawl, with signs and volunteers telling us the hanging wires in the end of the tunnel were turned on and contained shocks of 100,000 volts. Unless you’re an electrician, you probably wouldn’t know that this is just a little too much for the human body to withstand, and even electricians wouldn’t be faulted to not think about this after 2 hours of running through the Tough Mudder course. But I knew the sneaky about this obstacle - I have seen videos of Mudders running the courses in America and the UK, through Electroshock Therapy style obstacles and tunnels, all claiming to have 100,000 volts. Once the Mudders that did actually dare to try it got out, they found a sign saying something about it being a prank, and that the wires weren’t even wires, but rope. So I knew as soon as I saw the 100,000 volt signs that this was a sneaky being played on us. So after skirting around 6 Mudders waiting at the entrance to the tunnels, all arguing over who goes first, I climbed in and gave a few screams of “pain” just for their pleasure/anxiety. But when I did get to the end of the tunnel and the “wires”, even knowing they weren’t real I still hesitantly touched them just in case. I’ve been shocked enough times in Electroshock Therapy to know that it sucks!
After climbing out the tunnel, and having a laugh with the volunteer, I trundled off on my way, with only two obstacles to overcome until the finish line.
What stood in front of me next was pretty much the reason why I came to the Sunshine Coast for this Mudder – Fire in Your Hole. Oh my god, it looked amazing! I climbed not just a cargo net, but then a ladder as well. We were 20 metres off the ground, and the only way down was down the water slide, through the wall of fire into the pool of water below. I don’t even know how to explain the feeling I felt as I sat on top of the slide, with the volunteer giving me instructions of what to do – lie back, cross your arms, don’t lift your head etc.
And then I took the plunge.
Mud Mile, Cliff Hanger and Walk the Plank went along as you’d expect, a little too easily for my liking. But after that, the most well-known obstacle stood in my path, Everest. In Mudders past, just like the Berlin Walls, I have not been able to achieve greatness on Everest without other peoples help. Tough Mudder had done a sneaky this event, and placed a big puddle a few inches deep, and quite a few metres wide right at the bottom of Everest, so that no matter what, your feet would be sopping wet while trying to scale the beast. However, this did not stop me. Having wrote the Everest Obstacle Series post weeks ago, I knew exactly what I had to do, and that was keep running as fast as I can, right up to the top. Even if someone’s hand is hanging down for you, and you think you can reach it, don’t stop running – run another two steps up to make sure you get up there. But I didn’t need any help. First try, and I made it all the way to the top, barely using my arms even, as I ran so hard and far up the quarter pipe that another step or two, and I could have walked right over the top of it. Back to high spirits again, let me tell you!
From the top of Everest, I could see the end of the course very close by, with only a couple obstacles in between me and eternal glory (and the start of my second lap). At this point I had no idea how long I had been running, whether it had been 1 hour or 4 – I can never tell the duration of my runs, it all blurs into one continuous thing. So I climbed down Everest, and ran off to the Legionnaires Loop.
The Legionnaires Loop in this event contained 3 obstacles that first time Mudders are unable to try (until they complete their second Mudder). The first was a very long Kiss of Mud, twice maybe even three times as long as the first KoM. This was hell on my forearms, as there was quite a bit of rocks and jagged edges underneath the mud and water that was slowly rising with every minute due to the down pour which had been happening all day so far.
Then came a sneaky little tunnel crawl, with signs and volunteers telling us the hanging wires in the end of the tunnel were turned on and contained shocks of 100,000 volts. Unless you’re an electrician, you probably wouldn’t know that this is just a little too much for the human body to withstand, and even electricians wouldn’t be faulted to not think about this after 2 hours of running through the Tough Mudder course. But I knew the sneaky about this obstacle - I have seen videos of Mudders running the courses in America and the UK, through Electroshock Therapy style obstacles and tunnels, all claiming to have 100,000 volts. Once the Mudders that did actually dare to try it got out, they found a sign saying something about it being a prank, and that the wires weren’t even wires, but rope. So I knew as soon as I saw the 100,000 volt signs that this was a sneaky being played on us. So after skirting around 6 Mudders waiting at the entrance to the tunnels, all arguing over who goes first, I climbed in and gave a few screams of “pain” just for their pleasure/anxiety. But when I did get to the end of the tunnel and the “wires”, even knowing they weren’t real I still hesitantly touched them just in case. I’ve been shocked enough times in Electroshock Therapy to know that it sucks!
After climbing out the tunnel, and having a laugh with the volunteer, I trundled off on my way, with only two obstacles to overcome until the finish line.
What stood in front of me next was pretty much the reason why I came to the Sunshine Coast for this Mudder – Fire in Your Hole. Oh my god, it looked amazing! I climbed not just a cargo net, but then a ladder as well. We were 20 metres off the ground, and the only way down was down the water slide, through the wall of fire into the pool of water below. I don’t even know how to explain the feeling I felt as I sat on top of the slide, with the volunteer giving me instructions of what to do – lie back, cross your arms, don’t lift your head etc.
And then I took the plunge.
The feeling after doing the Fire in Your Hole obstacle was amazing. I was on top of the world - so pumped! Not even Electroshock just around the corner could dampen my mood! I got through that with only a few zaps, nothing to write home to mum about really. Then, the finish line. Now, I know that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge, and that times don’t count towards anything but your ego, but as I was racing against the clock to finish in time to start another lap, so I think you can forgive me for bragging that I finished the course in about 2 hours and 15 minutes, annihilating Auckland’s time of 3 hours, and Melbourne’s time of 3.5 hours. Obviously not just writing, but using the Obstacle Series posts to help my training paid off! Apparently, I was well within the first 100 finishers of the day, and starting in the second wave, with 300 people per wave, I think I did fairly well on my first lap!
After receiving my 7th orange finisher headband, I went over the the finisher tent to collect my 7th finisher shirt, and get my brand new pink 7-9x Mudder Legion Headband. At this point I ran into one of my sponsors, Training Mask Oceania, who decked me out in a whole new kit. Appreciate it guys!
I put my new gear and finisher shirt, and old 4-6x Legion Headband in the bag, my running partner for lap 2, Laura, checked the bag at the bag drop area and we jumped into the next available wave for my second lap, and Laura’s first of the weekend. I believe it was the 11am wave.
I put my new gear and finisher shirt, and old 4-6x Legion Headband in the bag, my running partner for lap 2, Laura, checked the bag at the bag drop area and we jumped into the next available wave for my second lap, and Laura’s first of the weekend. I believe it was the 11am wave.
Lap two started pretty much the same as my first lap for the day. Pump up, pledge, Hoo Rah’s, and off we went. It had been about 20 minutes since I finished my first lap, maybe even as much as 25 minutes, and I was starting to cool down and cramp up, and needed to get warm again so I wouldn’t be completely stuffed 3 metres into the second lap.
As we started in a later wave, we were with a lot of the slower people I found. All the very fit, strong Legionnaires tend to run in the earlier waves I believe, and this suited me fine, as I knew this lap would be much slower than my first, as I was tired and fatigued by now. Laura was still recovering from her knee injury sustained in New Zealand Tough Mudder in April, and was disobeying doctors’ orders by running, but to hell with them yeah? What do they know! That did mean though that she wasn’t as fast as usual, which also suited me for my second lap. Slow and steady wins the race which isn’t a race, right?
This lap was pretty much uneventful, and I won’t go into much detail as I’d just be repeating myself from earlier in this blog post. I did, however, fail Pole Dancer again as mentioned above. I also stuffed up on Hangin’ Tough and Leap of Faith. At that point I had run 30 odd Kilometres, my forearms were killing me and I felt like I had two broken knee caps. Still, we pushed on.
We completed all the rest of the obstacles, I got to watch Laura freak out over the 100,000 volts on the Legionnaires Loop (I may have failed to tell her it was fake, whoops) and got another go at Fire in Your Hole. It was as epic as the first time. I went first, and got to see Laura come down from a different angle to everyone else, while floating in the water with her sliding down towards me. That was pretty cool. I need to find me a water proof camera I think …
We crossed the line together, after a slower lap of about 3 and a bit hours. Pretty good for my second lap, and with Laura’s injuries. I’d estimate we ran about a third total, and walked the rest. After getting our headbands and shirts, we got our bag and rugged up against the pouring rain, which had not stopped all bleedin’ day! While Laura necked her two finisher beers (she got mine as firstly I don’t drink beer and secondly I’m not drinking this year) I had a look around the merchandise tent. I bought a pair of Tough Mudder gloves, which I planned on wearing the next day, to hopefully help with Pole Dancer and Hangin’ Tough. I figured less likely to slip, more likely to finish the obstacle. Laura purchased a movie reference Mudder shirt, which we found out on the plane trip home (we were pretty much seated next to a group of Mudder employees coming home to Melbourne) that every Mudder in Australasia this year will have a different movie referenced t-shirt. These are the ones from Auckland and Sunshine Coast.
As we started in a later wave, we were with a lot of the slower people I found. All the very fit, strong Legionnaires tend to run in the earlier waves I believe, and this suited me fine, as I knew this lap would be much slower than my first, as I was tired and fatigued by now. Laura was still recovering from her knee injury sustained in New Zealand Tough Mudder in April, and was disobeying doctors’ orders by running, but to hell with them yeah? What do they know! That did mean though that she wasn’t as fast as usual, which also suited me for my second lap. Slow and steady wins the race which isn’t a race, right?
This lap was pretty much uneventful, and I won’t go into much detail as I’d just be repeating myself from earlier in this blog post. I did, however, fail Pole Dancer again as mentioned above. I also stuffed up on Hangin’ Tough and Leap of Faith. At that point I had run 30 odd Kilometres, my forearms were killing me and I felt like I had two broken knee caps. Still, we pushed on.
We completed all the rest of the obstacles, I got to watch Laura freak out over the 100,000 volts on the Legionnaires Loop (I may have failed to tell her it was fake, whoops) and got another go at Fire in Your Hole. It was as epic as the first time. I went first, and got to see Laura come down from a different angle to everyone else, while floating in the water with her sliding down towards me. That was pretty cool. I need to find me a water proof camera I think …
We crossed the line together, after a slower lap of about 3 and a bit hours. Pretty good for my second lap, and with Laura’s injuries. I’d estimate we ran about a third total, and walked the rest. After getting our headbands and shirts, we got our bag and rugged up against the pouring rain, which had not stopped all bleedin’ day! While Laura necked her two finisher beers (she got mine as firstly I don’t drink beer and secondly I’m not drinking this year) I had a look around the merchandise tent. I bought a pair of Tough Mudder gloves, which I planned on wearing the next day, to hopefully help with Pole Dancer and Hangin’ Tough. I figured less likely to slip, more likely to finish the obstacle. Laura purchased a movie reference Mudder shirt, which we found out on the plane trip home (we were pretty much seated next to a group of Mudder employees coming home to Melbourne) that every Mudder in Australasia this year will have a different movie referenced t-shirt. These are the ones from Auckland and Sunshine Coast.
And that was that. Day 1 of Sunshine Coast Tough Mudder wrapped up. We left Mudder Village, and returned to the car. As you saw above, the car was a tiny, grunt-less heap. While trying to get out of the paddock onto the road, we got bogged, and had to call a group of 3 Mudders over to help us get out of this spot of trouble. Luckily we were able to un-bog and go home.
Home consisted of showers, food, warmth and sitting in front of the TV for the next 5 hours until bed time. Boy did I sleep like a log!
Home consisted of showers, food, warmth and sitting in front of the TV for the next 5 hours until bed time. Boy did I sleep like a log!
Sunday we woke up with plenty of time to get to the course to begin in the first wave of the day, but as I slowly gained consciousness, I found that my knees were absolutely in agony from the previous days exploits. My bung shoulder was also playing up, and I made the decision not to run my 3rd lap for the weekend. I was not at all happy with this, but with my hockey finals just around the corner back home in Melbourne, I thought it best that I don’t push myself to the absolute limit and wreck myself. As the morning went on though, I felt more and more that this was the wrong call. I felt that I could have easily completed another lap, just much slower than the previous day obviously, but by this time it was too late. I was bummed by this though, but it was probably for the best.
We eventually got out of the house, and drove into town for lunch. The weather on Sunday was the complete opposite from the day previous. The first rain in Caloundra in months, and the amount was unbelievable, yet Sunday was 25 degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. I even got sunburnt while walking down the road – I'd never think to wear a hat after Saturday’s weather!
We got lunch at some pub in town, which was welcoming Mudders with orange and black balloons everywhere. As the town was only 5 minutes from the course itself, a lot of shops were embracing the Mudder weekend with specials and offers everywhere. This is quite different to all the other Mudders I’ve been too over the last couple of years, as they have all been well out of the way, and a long drive to anywhere of worth. Auckland Mudder was an hour out of town and Melbourne Mudder was half an hour from anything in Phillip Island, and well over an hour out of Melbourne itself. We had the rest of the day to do nothing, so really just bummed around after looking through the town.
We eventually got out of the house, and drove into town for lunch. The weather on Sunday was the complete opposite from the day previous. The first rain in Caloundra in months, and the amount was unbelievable, yet Sunday was 25 degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. I even got sunburnt while walking down the road – I'd never think to wear a hat after Saturday’s weather!
We got lunch at some pub in town, which was welcoming Mudders with orange and black balloons everywhere. As the town was only 5 minutes from the course itself, a lot of shops were embracing the Mudder weekend with specials and offers everywhere. This is quite different to all the other Mudders I’ve been too over the last couple of years, as they have all been well out of the way, and a long drive to anywhere of worth. Auckland Mudder was an hour out of town and Melbourne Mudder was half an hour from anything in Phillip Island, and well over an hour out of Melbourne itself. We had the rest of the day to do nothing, so really just bummed around after looking through the town.
Our flight the next morning back home was scheduled for around midday with Jetstar once again. Luckily enough they didn’t cancel on us again, and we got on our plane with no dramas. Like I mentioned above, we sat pretty much next to a few Tough Mudder workers, and had a good chat about everything with them. One of the guys was on his laptop the entire flight, putting in everyone’s details who were apart of Mudder Legion, the ones whose name wasn't in the system for whatever reason – just like mine at Melbourne and New Zealand.
After getting home after the plane flight, I wasn't feeling too bad, especially after having ran a marathons worth of Tough Mudder just 2 days prior. Knees still a little sore, and I could feel a twinge in my shoulder still, but fine apart from that. So onto the next event – Perth on the 13th and 14th of September. Only 4 weeks in between Mudders, such a glorious thought! After the 111 days between the last two runs, 28 days is nothing! I have a few things I need to work on for this upcoming Mudder, cardio as per usual, and a few obstacles which I failed this time around, but I think I will be well and truly ready for Perth Tough Mudder. I have decided to only do two laps total, one on each day of the event, as my hockey grand final is the next weekend after Perth. I don’t think my team would be happy with me at all if I have to pull out of the grannie injured because I pushed too hard at Perth.
So that about wraps up my personal Sunshine Coast Tough Mudder review. I will also be publishing the official Sunshine Coast review, so check that out. It will be different to this review, as this was more about my personal time over the weekend, whereas the official review will be Tough Mudder related only, and we rate obstacles and the overall course. More photos will also be coming your way soon, so stay tuned!
After getting home after the plane flight, I wasn't feeling too bad, especially after having ran a marathons worth of Tough Mudder just 2 days prior. Knees still a little sore, and I could feel a twinge in my shoulder still, but fine apart from that. So onto the next event – Perth on the 13th and 14th of September. Only 4 weeks in between Mudders, such a glorious thought! After the 111 days between the last two runs, 28 days is nothing! I have a few things I need to work on for this upcoming Mudder, cardio as per usual, and a few obstacles which I failed this time around, but I think I will be well and truly ready for Perth Tough Mudder. I have decided to only do two laps total, one on each day of the event, as my hockey grand final is the next weekend after Perth. I don’t think my team would be happy with me at all if I have to pull out of the grannie injured because I pushed too hard at Perth.
So that about wraps up my personal Sunshine Coast Tough Mudder review. I will also be publishing the official Sunshine Coast review, so check that out. It will be different to this review, as this was more about my personal time over the weekend, whereas the official review will be Tough Mudder related only, and we rate obstacles and the overall course. More photos will also be coming your way soon, so stay tuned!
Make sure you follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for posts while on course at Perth in a few weeks. We have a professional photographer following the TMtour2014 crew around for the next couple of Mudders, and you won’t want to miss out on the results!
See you all in Perth!
Hoo Rah!
#TMtour2014
See you all in Perth!
Hoo Rah!
#TMtour2014