How I Learned To #OwnYourStrong Mudderella NorCal 2015

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Mudderella. I received complimentary admission to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Can I just say, 

#1. I've never done any sort of formal run.

#2. Never lifted more than a 5lb weight.

#3. Didn't own a sports bra. 

#4. Nor done anything remotely "athletic" since I was 14 years old!

I'm not fit.  I've been pregnant or breastfeeding for the past 4 years non-stop, and have three beautiful little girls to prove it. 

But see that picture above?  That's me. Me in a muddy pit, crawling my way through a Mudderella obstacle called "down to the wire" - slippery, sliding, trying to avoid the electric charged wires above me....okay...that last part is my imagination getting away from me.

This was, 

one of the most challenging, exciting, powerful moments in my life.

Mudderella NorCal 2015 was a great motivator for me to get my butt into the gym and try to get stronger after spending the past 4 years taking care of babies and making excuses not to to take care of myself.

The second, or most important reason I wanted to get fit or stronger was that during my last pregnancy, after a trip to the ER not being able to walk, I was diagnosed with #Spondylolisthesis - a fracture in my spine  and resulting slippage, from competitive gymnastics when I was younger. 

I worked with a physical therapist for 6 months while pregnant, but then lack of funds meant saying good-bye to my trainer. Now, a year after having "the bookend" baby, I had started to feel the back pain again and needed a motivator to strengthen my core, but could never seem to get going on my own.

I have three, VERY crazy, insane active girls, and unless I'm core-strong my back starts acting up, and by the end of the day I can't walk without major pain.  

When I heard about Mudderella, an all-day athletic event designed by women, for women to challenge strength, balance, endurance and agility in a team environment - I thought, this could be the thing.

I'm not a runner, and before this event I hadn't run more than a few yards to catch my toddler before running into the street. 

  

A traditional race, was not gonna happen in my book, so the idea that mud could be an equalizer and obstacles could keep me excited and interested spoke to me. A mud run, it was!

I decided I was in. I'm gonna do this.

For me. 

For my girls.

So, then, how to begin to prepare for #Mudderella2015?

That's right.

Step #1. Move
Step #2. Move more...
Step #3. well, you get it right?

The Mudderella site has a pretty cool training program posted that totally eliminates the need to get "formal training" with exercises and videos that you can do at home. 

Personally, I did end up joining a gym, since I have no babysitter to watch my kids and anytime my butt hits the floor to do sit-ups, all three of my kids just sit on me and I get nothing done....except for some pretty fun wrestling and laughing sessions.

I found a gym, Get Fit Davis that has a pretty great childcare area and some really great exercise classes - one in particular - H.E.A.T. lead by Kendall Lou Schmidt which totally kicked my ass, made me sweat more than I have in my life, pushed me to the limit, was fun and challenged me to get moving and prepare for the run.

I don't know if it's genetic, or I really was that out of shape (yup, that's prolly it) that my face turns all kinds of gorgeous shades of red when I exercise. The photos above are all after my classes at the gym. 

Exhausted.

Exhilarated. 

Tired. 

Stronger. 

So, to start, I had 5 people on my Yolo Mamas team to take on Mudderella NorCal 2015.

As of the morning before the mud run, I was prepared to run alone, since my team members had dropped like flies for multiple (valid) reasons.  

I could have taken this as a cue to bow out, honestly I was scared.  I had never clocked more than 2 miles on the elliptical at the gym or even ran a mile straight without stopping.

A 5-mile athletic event was a HUGE obstacle to me, lots of reasons to say "not this time" - but I didn't. I promised myself I'd at least attempt this goal and fate smiled on me.

We designed our own "Yolo Mamas" shirts for this mud run at CustomizedGirl.com

When my buddy heard that I was prepared to run alone, she put aside all her physical issues (umm, she was newly pregnant) to run with me. She wouldn't take "no" for an answer. 

So we did it. 

Together. 

...and here is our journey at #Mudderella2015, in photos, because really...I've talked enough:

...and we're off to a running start...can you find me?

needed some good core strength for this one, planking over a muddy trench...

tough tatas was a piece of cake!

here's where we really get muddy...and strangers touch your butt to help push you over the slippery mud hills! 

Almost done...still smiling and not half as muddy as we should be! 

i may, or may no have exaggerated a tiny bit on the toughness of this challenge

super high, super steep, and we have no idea what's waiting on the other side...

i'm not afraid of heights, but this was super steep and super fast, right into a pool of muddy water = awesome! 

What the heck did I just do? Crossed the frackin' finish line in a 5 mile mud run, that's what! 

the official finisher photo! team #YoloMamas did it!

the actual reason why I signed up for this...1 free beer at the end of 5 miles!

feeling super #OwnYourStrong at the end of #MudderellaNorCal 2015!

Dirty Shoes?
check.

Tank Top ready to retire?
check.

Incredibly proud of myself in doing something I never thought possible?
check.

my 3 girls came to surprise me at the end of the run...the look on their faces when they saw their mama accomplish something this big and new was priceless.

Want more photos of the Mudderella NorCal event? Check out my Facebook Album here.
 

Now, You're probably like "hey, is Mudderella coming to my town"? 

List of Mudderella Events:

-        Toronto – July 11, 2015 – Kitchener, ON Canada

-        Capital Region – July 25, 2015 – Clarksburg, MD

-        Colorado – August 22, 2015 – Snowmass Village, CO

-        Pittsburgh – September 12, 2015 – Slippery Rock, PA

-        Whistler – September 26, 2015 – Blackcomb Mountain, Whistler, BC Canada

-        New England – October 3, 2015 – Thompson, CT

If you don't see a scheduled run close to where you live, Mudderella is adding new cities along the way, so check out www.Mudderella.com for all the latest info. 

Or, if you're the visual type, check out a video here all about Mudderella and sign up for your adventure to #OwnYourStrong today.

I can with my whole (muddy) heart promise you..........YOU WON'T REGRET IT!