Crazy race! Ran with 2 friends, E & M, and we all made a pact to stay together. It was rough running on almost no sleep, in high heat (upper 80s I think), with no shade or wind for the first several miles, + obstacles and hills! REAL. Effing. HILLS. Real hills like I didn't think existed in IL (on some farmland in the boonies). To boot, I was slower than my friends, and then M badly sprained her ankle 4 mi in, and we stuck with her for maybe 10 min while she got it wrapped. She then actually finished the race on the bad ankle and was still faster than me!

Things that were awesome for me: (1) We finished the 1st mile in 9:52 despite the heat AND the 1st obstacle (climbing tall hurdles); (2) The relief that washed over me when I gave myself permission not to run up the hills - we were all Chicagoans, so practically no one was running them! (3) I was actually really good at a few (out of like 18) obstacles - anything involve leg strength or coordination/balance; (4) Every time we got to crawl through mud - I see why pigs do it now...SO cooling! (5) Abandoning my ego or any sense of competitiveness to stay with friends no matter what it meant for my finishing or time; (6) M reaching out her hand for me to grab & actually Pulling Me Forward every time I fell behind (which was a lot) - she's a very powerful woman, so it was this remarkable feeling; (7) Noting later that M had *literally* dragged me through the mud; (8) Feeling like a mud-caked badass and spraying every inch of myself down with high-pressure hoses afterward.

BTW, it's incredibly hard to run in Brooks Adrenaline that are SOAKED IN MUD and caked with extra mud & grasses on the bottom. It felt like lead weights around my ankles! All in all, glad I did it. Glad I did it with friends.