Mudder Montage.

This is a montage of photos taken by Neil Gall, which I think sums up the day nicely.

Thanks. x

When the going gets Tough.......

Way back in January I was persuaded yet again by Beth to sign up for a new challenge. The challenge in question this time was Tough Mudder.

I had previously heard of this event and thought "Why would you want to do that?" but when the opportunity to participate was real it was kind of hard to resist, who wouldn't want to run about 12 miles and have 20+  muddy, watery, electrifying obstacles to overcome. Me, I'm in, yes I'd like to do that!

So the training began, well kind of. Since signing up and saying "I need to be as fit as I have ever been", I seemed to get injury after injury, nothing major but enough to stop me from doing even my usual routine of keeping fit for a while. Eventually things came together and I was feeling back on top again.

What I wasn't quite prepared for was the fear. This was not a simple case of running or cycling as fast as you can from A to B. This run involved Army assault course obstacles with names like Arctic Enema, Boa Constrictor, Walk the Plank and Electric Eel.

So the obvious thing to do to prepare for such an event is watch endless You Tube clips of people being scared and or failing. It is needless to say that when the actual day came around on Saturday I was a tad on the fearful side.

Our team name was "Tough Tottie" and in total there were about 22 of us, but we broke down into smaller teams on the day. My fabulous team consisted of the amazing Nelson sisters and 2 others.

Our start time was 9.15am and although it was local, Dalkeith Country Park we still had to have an early rise and be there with plenty time to register etc. 6am on a Saturday is early!

Gathering our team at the start, it was fairly obvious that we were all very excited at the prospect of what was ahead but also extremely apprehensive. Although we did have a few things to do before we were allowed to compete. Writing your friends participant number on their forehead in permanent marker was one of them.

Of course not everyone wrote just the number! 

Team Tough Tottie.

Excited!

Before you run the Tough Mudder you have to repeat the Tough Mudder pledge.

It is a great gimmick but it works and we were ready and prepared to help our fellow mudders. 

The full squad.

Pledge. Hoo - rah!

Of course being Tough Mudder you had to get over a wall in order to get to the starting pen.

Phew, made it to the start.

And we're off.

My most feared obstacle the Arctic Enema was 2nd but before that we got down and dirty!

Long hair + barbed wire = stuck

Rescue

One down, 21 to go.

The ice enema was as horrible as I thought it might be, but mind over matter made me do it and as frozen as we all were, we plodded onwards. 

As we progressed the more I started to enjoy it, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined it would be. The next big challenge ahead was the Walk the plank, which is a 15ft jump off a platform into water. Both Beth and Lesley have a fear of heights so this was really a big deal.....but they did it and with style, after that there was no stopping us. We absolutely rocked it, although without the help of some strong men at the top of Everest to help haul our girlie asses over the top, we might not have made it.

Island Hopping over the Esk.

Boa Constrictor.

Impressive venue.

Electric Eel.

Everest. That's me sliding down!

Electroshock Therapy, the last obstacle and yes it hurts.

Run, Mrs Mac.

Not so white vests!

Headband, tee shirt, tin foil wrap and a pint of cider.

We made it! Go Team!!!

It was with relief that we all made it around without any major incidence. We all have bruises, scrapes and sore muscles, but we also have a great sense of achievement and some fun memories.

Would I do it again? Yes I would because I actually quite enjoyed it, but I don't think I will as once you have done it, you've done it. Been there, done that syndrome. Also it was quite an expensive event to enter and although some of your fee went to the Help the Heroes charity, they charged you extra dosh at every turn.

I could not fault the organisation though it all seemed to run like clockwork, and there were safety supervisors at every hazard, which was comforting to say the least. Although I'm not sure the couple getting married in the church at the main grounds entrance gate, were overly happy with the sights, sounds and general chaos surrounding their beautiful day.

Peace x

All photos taken by the lovely D Tipple.

A Pictorial Catch Up.

The last few weekends have been very busy with fun stuff, so have not had a chance to catch up with the old blog. Here is a less words, more photos, kind of post.


Edinburgh Festival is back again, which means traffic, traffic traffic, and some very grumpy hours having to drive through town. The traffic management system of this fair city is beyond horrific!

Jams.

Although I find the whole festival thing quite tedious these days, a good girlie night out was had at "Forth on the Fringe".

 Gin a necessary accompaniment to a good night out.

Gin in Tins.

2nd row seats.

Illustrations from a book in the pub.

Thick ankles?

A walk up Ben A'an made for a lovely day out, even though we got a bit wet in the rain. A short and steep walk that is well worth it for the views at the top.

Not sure if he was hungry, but definitely a caterpillar.

Loch Katrine.

Ben A'an.

Day out, home cooked dinner, drinks and a rainbow. What else does a girl need?

Lunch at my Tay spot.

Harbour at Granton.

A day trip west to Culzean Castle. The drive through is quite far but well worth it for a walk along the beach and then up to the very picturesque castle and gardens.

A bonus for the day was seeing an adder soaking up some warmth on a piece of rock, before it slithered off into the grass.

Pretty.

Sun dial head.

Red flower.

White flower.

This weekend has been busy with running and mountain biking and more rainbows. 

Happy? I think so.

Pentlands.

Peace x

All photographs by Caroline Harvey.