Warrior Dash: After

So the Warrior Dash is over and I managed to survive.  The obstacles themselves were not so bad, however I totally overestimated my running ability.  For some ridiculous reason I did not account for the fact that I wouldn't be running on flat paved roads.  I'm not sure why this thought didn't cross my mind.  It would be a crazy thing to expect.  Well, I guess I didn't really expect that, but I never really considered it either.  The running path was a rocky, bumpy trial and very steep!  I would say that over a third of the race was up hill.  I would love to say that I ran the entire race, but there was definitely some walking involved.  Much to Thomas' chagrin, but he was good sport and prodded me along.  He didn't even leave me behind which I thought was very nice of him.  Maybe next time I do it I can keep up. 

Here is a review from my previous post about the obstacles and how I thought I would handle the obstacles along with how I actually handled them.

Obstacle 1- Road Rage- "Stampede through a scrap yard of rusted wreckage".  Basically you climb over a bunch of cars.  Should be pretty fun. This was super hard because it wasn't just the cars to jump over.  They bookended the cars with several sets of tires to run through as well.  Tires, car, tires, car, tires.  It was exhausting.
Obstacle 2- Barricade Breakdown- "Hurdle over the barricades and crawl under barbed wire".  I'm a bleeder so this could complicate things.  Also difficult, but only because you just ran a mile to get to the obstacles.
Obstacle 3- Rubber Ricochet- "Ram your way through the rubber tire jungle".  They just hung up a bunch of tires close together.  Doesn't sound too difficult to get through.  As I thought, it was silly and not a difficult one.
Obstacle 4- Cliffhanger- "Repel down the steep ravine".  This sounds fun.  Really looking forward to this.  Totally sad that this obstacle was completely absent.  Dang it!  That was going to be fun!
Obstacle 5- Chaotic Crossover- "Crawl across the tangled nets".  Given my mad coordination skills, or lack there of, this could pose a threat.  This one was pretty precarious.  I managed it ok, but it was pretty difficult
Obstacle 6- Dead weight Drifter- "Trudge through the waist deep water and over the logs"- I'm sure running the rest of the race in wet shoes and underwear is going to be awesome.  This was definitely more like nipple deep water and not waist deep.  I'm a tall guy too so anyone who was short really had a hard time with this.  The logs also rolled so it was easy to lose your balance. 
Obstacle 7- Cargo Climb- "Maneuver over the cargo nets".  Again... coordination could be a problem.  I did well on this one.  It was a really high climb though.  I could see how it could be pretty dangerous.
Obstacle 8- Deadman's Drop- "Climb to the top and over the unhandy hurdle".  I have no idea what this means.  Unhandy hurdle?  I don't get it.  I still don't know what an "Unhandy Hurdle" is.  It was basically a wall climb and you jumped off the other side.  Not too bad.
Obstacle 9- Giant Cliffhanger- "Make the trip to the top of the massive slope".  You climb up a hill with the assistance of a rope.  Doesn't sound too dangerous to me, but could be hard if I'm super tired at this point.  Although calling it a "slope" doesn't sound too menacing.  It was definitely just a "slope" and not so bad.
Obstacle 10- Muddy Mayhem- "Scramble beneath barbed wire as you near the finish".  Again with the barbed wire?  I can't say that I am very excited to crawl through the mud either.  I had to sign a liability waiver saying that I wouldn't dive head first into the mud.  Is this really a problem?  I think I might be able to control myself.  I did manage to control myself and not dive head first into the mud.  As far as the barbed wire goes, it was a lot more wire than it was barbs.  It was also a lot higher than necessary.  Mainly it was just there for mental purposes.
Obstacle 11- Warrior Roast- "Leap over the warrior fires".  You just have to jump over a few rows of flames as you cross the finish line.  That's no problem.  More mental than anything.  Unless I just fall over from exhaustion onto the burning coals.  That would be a problem.  I was so tired by this point that I didn't even care that there was fire there.  I just wanted to finish!

I had just a few goals for the run.  Mainly, I just wanted to finish.  That, I was able to do.  My other goal was to beat the guy in the chicken suit.  Which I totally did!  1/2 way through the race someone asked him how he was doing and he said "this is the worst idea I have ever had".  I would have been very sad if I was beat by a giant chicken.  I also beat the guy dressed as a beer and guy in the full suit and tie.  Go me.

Here are my results.  I finished number 2941 out of 7587.  I ran it in 49.19 minutes with a pace of 13.31 per mile.  So while no one is going to pick me up for the Olympics, it does sound cool to say that I ran it faster than 4646 other people.  Again I say, "go me".

When the race was finished I threw my shoes away and went to the line to get washed off.  They had this big water truck that you could walk by and have someone hose you off.  I totally got neglected in the line because the old water pervert with the hose was concentrating all of his attention on the group of 20 year olds behind me who were pretending they were in a music video and pressing their boobs together while screaming about how cold it was.  So lame.  So I got moderately cleaned off and finished enjoying the festivities.

Overall, it was an awesome experience and I really enjoyed the time with my brother.  I can't wait to get a group of guys together and do it again next year.  Although, I may aim to find a closer even to run as appose to driving all the way to Oklahoma.