the warrior dash, phoenix 2012.

i think it was right about a year ago when richard came to me and said he and his friends were going to sign up for this crazy 3 mile obstacle course in california. i was all in to be a spectator/cheerleader for his 1st race...until i saw this video...

there was no way i was sitting on the sides while the boys did this super fun race! i told him i was in and the guys seemed ok with it. however as it all started to get closer and they realized this would actually be serious work they all dropped out, so we trudged ahead on our own. we decided to schedule it around what we wanted and that meant after england and out of town for richards 1st race. we chose phoenix cause it was close and we had really good friends to hang out with for the weekend. turns out it would be the 2nd time in 2 weeks we would be there!

friday right around noon we loaded up the car and headed south to mike and loras house. i was coming off my triathlon, was feeling good but a little worried about the obstacle side of the things while richard is a gym rat and lifts 5 days a week but doesnt do much cardio. we are like 2 peas in opposite pods haha. the drive was easy and we made it plenty of time to carb up for dinner and head home to watch a movie. our wave was to go at 130p the next day so we needed to hydrate and rest to be warrior ready!

the battleground was located in florence, about an hour outside phoenix, mike and lora both had things going on so we would see them later in the day. we picked up jessica (best cheerleader/photographer ever!) right on time at about 11a and headed out there. it ended up being a little bit further than expected, but with a quick hussle to the battleground we made it to check-in with plenty of time. it was a HOT one, 93* as we grabbed our bibs, sunscreened up, checked our gear, tacked on our warrior stickers, and made out way to the start line. every 1/2 hour they let about 200 people go so we weaved our way into the crowd after saying goodbye to jessica. and right on time we were off!

warrior up!

about a mile in we hit the 1st obstacle, which meant lots of running 1st. richard had learned a bit about taking off too fast in the color run so we stuck together weaving through some of the other people. it was much easier since everyone was there to run to find a groove and head to the swinging tires. once through there we had to climb the scary wall! its flat and has a rope with knots in it to help you up. i made it up fairly quickly but the climb down the other side was not good with someone afraid of heights! richard zipped through and helped me down with lots of encouragement:) i felt better after the 1st one and we headed off to the next ones!

it was really hot and the ground was super uneven. they added an extra water station thank goodness and we gladly took it! we continued on over cars and sliding down fireman poles. there were a few more scary walls, but i completed every obstacle! richard was great and stayed with me the whole time. he was so good at the obstacles and i was really good at the running. however that doesnt make such a good time for a finisher lol. as we were in between obstacles i decided this was definitely going to be my only! i told him next time he needed to find some friends that werent going to back out and they could all do it together, i would gladly be at the finish line taking pictures! he also thinking about stepping up his game and possibly doing a spartan race in the future, crazy i know.

as we got to the end i was ready to hop in that mud and cross the line. the whole time i kept waiting for the myesterious water slide obstacle that i had seen in the video. i was teased twice only to find nothing on the other side. then came the fire, it was wayyy cool to jump through. and finally the infamous mud! you basically just have to jump right in, no really thats what happens. mind you it was about 2 in the afternoon and it has been stirred up since roughly 9am. so you are really swimming through it. you have to get deep in there because there is barbed wire above your head to keep you really in there. it was gross i wont lie, but seriously sooo fun! 

winning!

we made it!

richard got out 1st after dunking his entire head in and waited for me to cross the finish line together :) we are officially warriors!!!

its all about the bling:)

we found jessica pretty easily after and she just laughed and laughed at how messy we were! she had taken great pictures and we headed over to the warrior helmet for the finisher one. on the way i finally got to meet this awesome girl! we had tried to meet up before but couldnt find each other and then randomly ran into each other at the end. why did we not take a picture?? oh because i was still sopping mud and she had just finished getting clean haha!. afterward we did my 2nd favorite thing of the day, get hosed off, literally. you stand in a line over a wood platform and 2 guys with huge firehouses just go up and down the line while you stand there till your done. it was actually really fun! 

all clean!

finally able to move without cracking we wandered around for a bit grabbing something to eat and souveniors. seeing all the costumes people wore (we saw tutus and floaties on guys wearing speedos, hilarious!) and of course we had to claim our free beers! well jessica drank mine of course. its like tradition :)

we headed home soon after, well once we changed before getting in the car. i would definitley suggest throwing a pair of flipflops in your bag to check so you can just chuck your shoes in the donation pile. also a fresh smelling trashbag to put all your clothes in was a perfect idea. a frozen gatorade big enough to share tasted fantastic after the hot sun as well!

this was a really fun race! glad i did it, once. if you are looking for something a little different definitely grab some friends and tackle this sucker. everyone was super nice and no one pushed or shoved on the obstacles. all the participants helped each other over the wall or climbing over the ropes. ps a few days later we were still finding mud in richards ears from the dive he took :)