Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Irvine Lake Mud Run - Spring Break at the Lake 2014

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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