Family "Mis" Adventures: 4 Miles, 45 + obstacles, and lots of mud

Waaaayyy back in April a bunch of us registered for the Swampfoot. To the uninitiated, the Swampfoot is a 4 mile obstacle race. To quote directly from their website: "Swampfoot 4 Mile is a hardcore military style obstacle course loaded with the largest obstacles in the industry sure to leave you wet, winded and wanting more!"

Think Tough Mudder, minus the chance of being electrocuted.

Well that was back in April, so we promptly forgot all about it. Then August rolled around and we realized that the race was right around the corner. Oh Crap.

The day of the race (yesterday) rolled around, and it was overcast and muggy. We sucked it up, put on our bright rainbow socks and off we went.

The course is filled with obstacles like log jumps, trudging through waist-deep muddy water, swinging over logs, climbing cargo nets.... you get the idea.

The obstacle I was most afraid of was the monkey bars. Why, you ask?

Well, these are the monkey bars you have to traverse:

Yeah, these ain't your neighbourhood playground monkey bars. These are over 30 feet of slippery, long, never ending monkey bars. Now when you get to the monkey bars, you can either do the monkey bars (hard), or go under the barrels (easier option). I almost went straight to the barrels because I thought there was no way in he!! I would be able to do the monkey bars. Then I thought: "Why am I here if I'm not going to try all the obstacles?"

So I sucked it up, put on my gloves and off I went. I did one, then two, then three. Three is more then I've ever done. EVER. So I kept going. I reached the half-way point. Then I thought, I've made it this far. My arms are burning, my hands are screaming, but I'll be damned if I don't finish these stinkin' things!

And I did. I traversed over 30 feet of monkey bars. And boy did I scream when I was done. Shannon asked me what part of the race was my favourite, and I told her finishing the monkey bars.

She giggled and said: "Why Mummy?"

My answer? "Because I never thought I'd be able to do the monkey bars. But I tried really hard, and I did them. I did something I never thought I'd be able to do."

And I'd do it again. Yep. Despite the pain, mud, grime and extreme exhaustion, I'll be there next year. Because nothing makes you feel better than trying to do something you never thought possible, looking it square in the face, and proving yourself wrong.

Chris and the kids were out supporting me, and he managed to get some classic pictures: