We are Tough Mudders

On June 25 we earned our bragging rights for finishing the Tough Mudder race in Avon, Colorado (near Vail). It was an absolutely gorgeous morning when we started out - warm, but not hot and just a light breeze in the air. We were surrounded by mountains and Aspen and Pine... absolutely the prettiest place to have a hard-core race like this!

Just a bit about the Tough Mudder: it's a 10-mile race up and down hills and through forests with 25 obstacles interspersed within the course. Some obstacles were not that bad and others were nearly insane. Actually, on second thought, they WERE insane! We were glad when we got to a not-insane obstacle so that we didn't have to worry about DYING. :) If you go to the website you can learn a bit about the course and see a video, etc. http://toughmudder.com/ (copy and paste link in your browser.)

Let's see... highlights of the race... Well, we started out huffing and puffing up a steep hill. Thank goodness for doing the incline so often! We were able to pass a lot of people who weren't used to the altitude. Then we came to the Berlin Walls - two vertical walls that were about 8 or 9 or 10 feet high (heck, it seemed like 15 feet high for us not-so-tall people). I was glad I've been working on my pull-ups because once Brian got me up to where I could reach the top of the wall I could pull myself up and get over. Dropping down over the other side was always a nice awakening to the joints in my legs, haha. :) There were also 4 more of these walls at the end of the course. In a row.

By far, the most difficult obstacle was the one where we had to swim/wade in 36 degree water for about 30 feet to cross a little "river." If that wasn't bad enough, we got to walk about 100 yards (just enough time to start to warm up) and then we had to cross the same river. This time, however, we had to swim under barrels that were floating on the top. We had to dunk ourselves completely under the water and keep going. That water was beyond ice cold. I was shivering so bad that I couldn't even really breathe and my muscles certainly didn't want to work! The thought of holding my breath (even for a second to get under the barrels) was a bit scary. Finally, I made it under the barrels then had to just keep swimming to the shore. By that time, my muscles had nearly locked up completely! Brian was kind enough to pause and turn around and extend his hand to me. When he did that, though, he whacked his right ankle on a rock below the surface. Of course, his body was so numb at that time that he didn't really realize what he had done until we "thawed out." His ankle swelled up so badly that I couldn't even see his ankle bone (more specifically, his medial malleolus!). We still had 6 miles to go at this point.

Immediately after the water, we were handed 20-30 pound logs to haul up a muddy hill and back down. That was crazy - cold water then heavy lifting!

The only other injury Team BS (yes, that was our registered team name) incurred was my knee injury when I went down in a mud puddle. When my left foot slipped I went down on my right knee and whacked it squarely on the kneecap (er, patella). After pausing for a moment and uttering only one bad word, I got back in. With Brian's help, I finished the rest of that obstacle. My knee hurt SO bad. It was bleeding and it swelled later. It's been over a week since the race and Brian and I still even have a little bit of swelling/bruising on our injury sites! This picture was taken as I told Brian I was okay to get back in the obstacle - you can see how he is taking such care of me and letting me lean on him. There was also another guy who stepped in to support my other arm - that's what's cool about this race. It's totally about team work and helping others.

Other than that, nothing too extraordinary happened. Just walking through some electrical wires with our feet in water and climbing up and over cargo nets and scrambling up icy snow with no clearance between you and a cargo net so we got tangled in the net...

Good times! We're making plans for how to train for next year's race!

We finally went to Moab together!

Now that I finally have the time to blog about our trip to Moab, I'm finding it difficult to remember every detail! Anyway, we went at the end of March and the weather was absolutely perfect. We got there and pitched our tent at Moab Valley RV (a great place with RV hookups, cabins, and tent spaces for pretty good rates...) . We got there fairly late so we didn't do much on the first day...


The next day we got to go whitewater rafting! We had a BLAST! The water was frigid cold but the sights were breathtaking. Our river guide, Ian, was pretty fun and he pointed out faces and animals and other things you could imagine the shapes on the rock walls to be. I saw a standing bird on one of the rock faces (pretty clearly) and neither Brian or Ian could see it.

The next day we went for a bike ride around Gemini Bridges and around that area. It was so good to be back in a familiar place! I hadn't been there for about 5 years and I always love it there. It was so fun to show Brian around - and he and I discovered some new trails in that area that neither one of us had been on. Those were very fun downhill sections!

Brian went for a solo ride the following day (over some stuff I didn't really feel a need to go over) and I spent some time studying my beloved anatomy and physiology (I had a practical and test only a couple days after we were to return). I also went for a jog on a new trail (new to me) and did a little yoga on a big flat red rock. It was awesome.

When he got back, we lounged by the pool and soaked up the sun. It felt nice to be so warm there when it was so cold at home! Oh, and we had a great dinner that night! We ate at a Mexican restaurant and the food was delicious!

We spent some time hiking through arches national park and I saw some arches I had never been to before. It was nice to see some new sites with the man I love!

The day we left, the weather turned very crappy! (Good timing!) The last night we were there in our tent, the wind picked up and was gusting to about 40 mph (no joke). We didn't sleep much at all that night! In the morning, we got pelted in the face by a mix of drizzle and sand as we ran into a restaurant to grab some breakfast. Visibility was about 100 feet and there were massive tumbleweeds rolling across the road. Wow, we were happy were weren't staying that day! We left at a good time.

It was a great trip and I know we'll be back again soon... hopefully it won't be 5 years before we return. ;)

Snow Camping!

With the temperatures being in the 50's (and even low 60's!) AND with Brian having MLK day off, we thought that there would be no better way to enjoy the extra time than going camping! The temperatures have been unusually high this January and we were excited to take advantage of the nice weather.

So, we headed out yesterday (Sunday the 16th) after I was done doing my spinning and yoga classes. We went up to Woodland Park, headed up Rampart Range Road, and found a very nice spot up jeep trail 325. There was already a large fire pit in place, plenty of flat ground for the tent, and some trees to break the wind (it was slightly breezy!). Surprisingly, there was quite a bit more snow on the ground than we had anticipated and the temperature was a little lower than we thought it would be due to the fact that there was some pretty thick stratus clouds blocking the sun. Nevertheless, we set up camp and then went hiking around the area.

Tundra was happy... but she acted like she couldn't quite figure out exactly what we were doing. She has only been camping one other time and that was at Stanley Canyon Reservoir last summer. When we take her out in the snow, it's usually for a quick jaunt on the snowshoes through the forest, so she had no idea what this whole excursion was all about. She still seemed to have fun though!

We made dinner using the dutch oven and hot coals we had brought with us. I made our all-time favorite camping recipe - Chicken Pot Pie. It was delicious! We washed it down with hot cocoa and it was the perfect meal for a chilly night in the snow by the campfire. At the end of this blog, I will include the recipe if you ever want to try it... it is truly spectacular. ;) (And very easy to make, too!) Tundra ate her dinner and kept asking for more. I guess she worked up an appetite trying to stay warm! Thank goodness we brought plenty of extra food for her. We even had to keep an eye on her water dish because it kept freezing!

Before the sun set, Tundra found a chipmunk. That little guy kept Tundra entertained for about 30 minutes... she didn't move from the bottom of the tree, hoping she would get a chance to see it up close.

Around 7:15, we went to bed. There really wasn't much else to do since the sun had gone down and it was freezing cold outside! We all snuggled in the tent and read our books by headlamp-light. Tundra had her little spot in the tent outside the sleeping bags next to me (Sara) and I snuggled close to Brian to keep warm while we read.

Finally, we decided to turn the lights off and catch some sleep. Tundra, even though she was covered with a small blanket, still seemed a bit chilly so we invited her to come inside our zipped-together sleeping bags. There was plenty of room for her between me and Brian and she climbed in without hesitation. She is like a little human! She laid down and even put her head on our pillow. So cute! Sometime during the night, she got too warm and crawled back out... and then back in a few hours later (with a little invitation to come back in).

In the morning, we had oatmeal and hot cocoa by the fire and then broke camp down. All of a sudden and without warning, Tundra turned ferocious and barked her meanest bark as she went full-tilt into the woods. Immediately, we called her back and she came (thank goodness she listens so well!). A moment later, we saw two beautiful deer bounding through the forest about 100 yards from where we stood. It's nice to know that Tundra DOES actually have an ability to sound threatening and a sense to protect her people! :)

It was a nice adventure, camping in the snow. A little chilly at times, but I would definitely do it again!

As promised, here is the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie in the Dutch Oven. I hope you get to try it! Keep in mind that this is enough for 2 people... if you are serving more, be sure to double it. I am certain that you will enjoy it!!

You will need: *2 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves, diced *1.5 TB olive oil *2 cloves garlic (minced) *1/2 onion, diced *2 red potatoes, diced *8 ounces frozen mixed veggies *1 (10.5 ounce) can of cream of chicken soup *1/4 cup evaporated milk *3/4 tea poultry seasoning (I use Mrs. Dash, Original Blend) *1/2 TB Worcestershire *salt and pepper to taste *1 small can (the 4-roll size) crescent rolls

Directions:

At home, gather 2 quart-size and 1 gallon-size ziplock bags. To one of the quart-size bags, put the chicken, garlic, olive oil, and some salt and pepper in it and then seal tightly. To another of the quart size bags, put potatoes and onion in it and then seal tightly. To the gallon size bag, put the frozen mixed veggies, the cream of chicken soup, evaporated milk, seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, and some salt and pepper.


At camp, put the dutch oven over 20-22 HOT briquettes. (Briquettes are hot when they are white and glow a little red color.) Add contents of chicken bag and stir frequently until chicken is no longer pink. Then add the contents of the potato/onion bag and stir frequently until the onions are translucent but still crispy. Then dump contents of veggie/soup bag in and bring to a boil. When the contents of the oven come to a boil, unroll the crescent rolls and place them on top of the "stew," trying to cover as much of the top as possible. Place the lid on the dutch oven. Remove about 12-16 of the briquettes from the bottom and place them on the lid. Then put the dutch oven back on the remaining briquettes on the bottom. Let sit for about 20-25 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure crescent rolls are cooking and not burning. When crescent rolls are slightly brown, dinner is done. Enjoy!

The Crags

Last Sunday (Jan 2) we all went snowshoeing in the Crags. It was a perfectly gorgeous day with just enough snow to really use the snowshoes. Tundra had a lot of fun running up and down the trail, crashing through the woods and plowing through the snow! (Anyone who knows Tundra knows that snow is her FAVORITE!) She rolled in it, ate it, and even jumped mid-air trying to catch some of it. She is truly an Alaskan dog (she was born there).

It's amazing how different the trail looks with snow. We hiked the same trail last summer with the dog all the way up the back side of Pikes Peak. (And, oh, by the way... the back side may be shorter, but it's quite a bit harder than taking Barr Trail!)



The snow wasn't quite sticky enough to build a snow man, but we are hopeful that sometime this season, we will be able to build a "snow-dog" instead of a snow man! When we do we will definitely post pictures.




Here's Tundra running through the snow...





When we were done snowshoeing for the day, we headed back to the truck. There was a large snowbank next to the parking lot where we parked, and another dog running around. Of course, Tundra had to say hello... they romped for a bit and then Tundra went plowed right into the snowbank! This wouldn't have been an issue, but she has been having some chronic knee pain and so she immediately came out of the snowbank limping severely and whimpering a little. Brian and I feared the worst and we resigned ourselves to the fact that she'd probably need surgery soon to fix it... but strangely, the next day she was even better than she was before the incident! Weird how things work out sometimes. :) We hypothesize she has a meniscus tear (for all you anatomy nerds out there, you'll know what I'm talking about!) and it must have been shoved back into its proper place when she ran in the snowbank. But man, Tundra sure looked like she was in pain after that! She said it hurt like a "son-of-a-cat!!!" Anyway, let's hope she doesn't need knee surgery again anytime soon.