Post by marx brothers on Oct 26, 2008 14:36:29 GMT -5
There is not a Muddy Buddy stop in Cleveland yet but about 10 all around the country. If you get a chance, I recommend it. I am a very competitive person so asking my Wife to partner with me in Muddy Buddy was a set-up for a potentially hazardous collision. Point in case was a recent 5K we did for speed work. I crossed the finish ~21 minutes and stood waiting to cheer my Wife in. I see her 100 yards out and with 10 yards to go she asks "where is Andrea" and she turns and runs back a half mile to bring her in.
Lessons Learned:
1. Recon. We were smart to go out to the course the day before. We did not however bring our bikes which would have enabled us to complete the entire course and see all the transition area obstacles. But we did manage to hike the first segment and even complete the first obstacle. Race day we felt much more comfortable knowing what was ahead of us.
2. Bike ID. We knew that it would be hard to spot our bike among the hundreds so we spent some time thinking about how to make ours stand apart. For $6 we purchased a neon pink saddle cover and agreed to park the bike at the furthest exit for each transition. While some lost seconds looking for their bike, we were through transitions quickly.
3. Order. Put your slowest teammate on the bike first. This will minimize the amount of segments they will actually have to run. My Wife is more agile on bike so by starting her off first, she only had 2 run segments and because of the leapfrog nature of the event, we were in first place half way through. Oops, did I say "first"? See #5 below.
4. Avoid Showers & Jump in the Lake. Muddy Buddy's are normally near bodies of water so after your mud pit crawl to the finish line, avoid the long shower lines and just jump in the lake. Easier and faster to wash off.
5. Save Your Marriage. So if you compete with your spouse, this is an excellent opportunity to practice Grace and leverage the opportunity for post race celebrations. So I had been visualizing the race and transition scenes all week long and telling myself it is not about winning but just having fun. It is not about winning but just having fun. It is not about winning but just having fun. It is not about winning but just having fun. You get the point. It was going very well until I passed up a couple of guys, realized we were now in first (short lived) and passing off to my Wife said, "I am in first". Bad Bad Bad Move.
6. Saved by the Mud. It was clear that we would not medal (just having fun remember) but with 100 yards to go I held her hand as we crawled through the mud pit, lifted up the overhead rope so she could keep her head out of the mud and right before we got out, gave her a big fat kiss. We crossed the finish line and all was well again. Bottom line if you do this with your spouse, just have fun no matter how competitive you are! Relationships are more important, not to mention the quality of post race activities.
Lessons Learned:
1. Recon. We were smart to go out to the course the day before. We did not however bring our bikes which would have enabled us to complete the entire course and see all the transition area obstacles. But we did manage to hike the first segment and even complete the first obstacle. Race day we felt much more comfortable knowing what was ahead of us.
2. Bike ID. We knew that it would be hard to spot our bike among the hundreds so we spent some time thinking about how to make ours stand apart. For $6 we purchased a neon pink saddle cover and agreed to park the bike at the furthest exit for each transition. While some lost seconds looking for their bike, we were through transitions quickly.
3. Order. Put your slowest teammate on the bike first. This will minimize the amount of segments they will actually have to run. My Wife is more agile on bike so by starting her off first, she only had 2 run segments and because of the leapfrog nature of the event, we were in first place half way through. Oops, did I say "first"? See #5 below.
4. Avoid Showers & Jump in the Lake. Muddy Buddy's are normally near bodies of water so after your mud pit crawl to the finish line, avoid the long shower lines and just jump in the lake. Easier and faster to wash off.
5. Save Your Marriage. So if you compete with your spouse, this is an excellent opportunity to practice Grace and leverage the opportunity for post race celebrations. So I had been visualizing the race and transition scenes all week long and telling myself it is not about winning but just having fun. It is not about winning but just having fun. It is not about winning but just having fun. It is not about winning but just having fun. You get the point. It was going very well until I passed up a couple of guys, realized we were now in first (short lived) and passing off to my Wife said, "I am in first". Bad Bad Bad Move.
6. Saved by the Mud. It was clear that we would not medal (just having fun remember) but with 100 yards to go I held her hand as we crawled through the mud pit, lifted up the overhead rope so she could keep her head out of the mud and right before we got out, gave her a big fat kiss. We crossed the finish line and all was well again. Bottom line if you do this with your spouse, just have fun no matter how competitive you are! Relationships are more important, not to mention the quality of post race activities.
