Yes, I got back in the mud on Saturday. And my opening mud run of the year was once again the Irvine Lake Mud Run. I really do like this mud run. It's scenic with a fun course. And, of course, it has the mud slide. Think water slide although you drop into a pool of muddy water at the bottom. Tons of fun!
This time around, they had a few new elements. One was a log walk/balance beam. I actually surprised myself by making it over the first, flat beam. Then I hit the one that went up at an angle. I made it two or three feet in and fell off. They also had giant spools. I'd run into those at other mud runs, and I'm not a fan. Fortunately here, they had ones small enough for me. Usually, the ones they have for guys assume the guys are taller than my 5' 6". Finally, there was a mud pit with a chained link fence over the top. No cheating and walking through this one. I talked to someone at the finish line who said he turned over and used the fence to propel himself along. I hadn't thought of that, but I'll have to try it next time.
What surprised me was how uncrowded it was. Normally, this mud run is packed and there's a few minute wait for the mud slide. This year, there wasn't a line, so I went down the slide twice. I've mentioned I love it, right? Then I found a short line for the showers. Unbelievable at any mud run. I'm not complaining, but I hope it doesn't mean that the mud run fad is dying. (Then again, if it got people to lower prices some, I wouldn't complain.)
I'm so tempted to go back for the summer run, but I've already got two I'm doing in June. A guy can't do them all, right?
I wound up doing this mud run alone, but that turned out to be for the best. I connected up with some friends from Santa Rosa who also live in So Cal afterward for lunch. We sat and talked and ate and laughed for a while. Then we went back to one of the couple's apartments and played games and laughed some more. It was an absolutely wonderful afternoon.
Not that I let that end my day either. I managed to sneak in a book signing on the way home. Rhys Bowen was out promoting her most recently mystery. I hadn't gotten to chat with her for a few years, so it was fun to do that.
Surprisingly, I didn't crash as soon as I got home, but I did sleep hard that night. Well worth it, however, since it was a great day.
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