Tough Mudder: Complete

I know some of the readers asked on the post “Diabetes, Tough Mudder, and Resilience” that I share how the Tough Mudder event went. More precisely, they wanted before and after photos. I’m happy to acquiesce with that request. I’m also happy to share the list of obstacles, both man-made and natural.

Tough Mudder Obstacles

1. Kiss of Mud
2. Walk the Plank
3. Glory Blades
4. Firewalker
5. Arctic Enema
6. Boa Constrictor
7. Funky Monkey
8. Cage Crawl
9. Mud Mile
10. Balls to the Wall
11. Log Jammin’
12. Hold Your Wood
13. Electric Eel
14. Island Hopping
15. Berlin Walls
16. Dirty Ballerina
17. Underwater Tunnels
18. Kiss of Mud #2
19. Trench Warfare
20. Wounded Warrior Carry
21. Everest
22. Electroshock Therapy

FREE Obstacles

1. Cow Patties
2. Cacti
3. Rock Climbing
4. Hills
5. Rivers

The Tough Mudder

Although I finished the Tough Mudder, I skipped the Berlin Walls and Dirty Ballerina. I just couldn’t do the whole “mind over matter.” It didn’t help that I’d already scaled some walls and had to have a lot of help to do that. By the time I reached the Berlin Walls, I had developed an overwhelming case of self-consciousness. The Dirty Ballerina simply scared me. I overcame my fears on Walk the Plank and Balls to the Wall, but I just couldn’t do it with the Dirty Ballerina. In the interest of full disclosure, I also skirted the Firewalker obstacle. Jumping over the fire just didn’t agree with me. I edged along the fire, then jumped into the muddy water below.

The Diabetes

My diabetes didn’t behave very well for the first few hours. The medical stations had limited supplies, which resulted in testing only when I saw my brother at a spectator station. One of those readings told me my blood glucose was high, so I took steps to bring it down. Unfortunately, my high blood sugar meant I didn’t take advantage of the snacks (bananas and CLIF bars) at the refueling stations, which perhaps explains the muscle cramp I experienced later in the day. The Aquapac (a waterproof pack) kept my insulin pump dry, but it left me wondering if the high blood sugar could be attributed to it. The instructions that came with the pack say the delivery of insulin can be impeded by it. I can’t prove anything in that regard; my blood sugar sometimes spikes when I panic, and I panicked on a couple of obstacles.

The Little Things and the Highlights

1. I will be forever grateful to the people who helped me with some of the obstacles. I don’t know any of their names, but I’m grateful for them.
2. I’m grateful my youngest brother came even though he had a long day of waiting in the sun. He’s the photographer for most of the photos below.
3. I’m grateful I had a teammate who didn’t seem to mind how inept I am when it comes to physical feats of strength. I minded, but he seemed to be alright with the fact.
4. I overcame Walk the Plank, a fifteen-foot drop into a pool of water. It took three tries, but I finally mustered the courage to count to three and jump.
5. I overcame Balls to the Wall, some sort of contraption that should be in a rock climbing gym. It was a twenty-foot wall (I think.) with minimum toe holds. The point was to use the ropes attached to the wall to climb to the top and down again. It took a lot of effort to get to the top and even more to get down to the bottom.
6. I somehow dodged the electrical wires on the final obstacle. I think that’s fair. I’d been jolted a number of times on the Electric Eel, an obstacle that required one to army crawl through a mesh of electrified wires.

The Photos

It’s taken a while to get to the photos, but here they are. Enjoy.