Worlds Toughest Mudder 2022

Race: Worlds Toughest Mudder 2022

Date: November 12th / 13th 

Time:  75 miles

Place: 32nd overall, 27th male, 7th AG

Pre-Race Conditions:

2 nights before the race we are relaxing at the Airbnb. We have a nice house in Pensacola. Everyone seems to be close by even though the race is about an hour from here. 

This year I’m feeling a lot better and ready. Last year was a lot more stressful and I made sure to not repeat that mistake. I was watching my biometrics over the last month. When I started to see it trend down I focused more on recovery and not pushing as hard. My training this block was a lot different than previous years. I was still doing a lot of my similar run training but scaled back in strength in favor of yoga, swimming and more general strength. It seemed to work for me in Chicago. This year it looks like it’s going to be cold. I’m so glad I was focused on a lot of heat training. While it will still benefit my fitness I’m not going to have to deal with that heat. 

I’m not looking at the weather until tomorrow afternoon when I start deep diving my plan after pit setup. I don’t want to waste energy thinking about it. I have all the gear to deal with any weather. I plan to just stay ahead of whatever is thrown at me and do the best I can. 

We had a nice trip so far. We left Monday morning and made it to Huntsville Alabama. Tuesday morning I found a nice greenway trail by the hotel to run and then we went to the US Space and Rocket center. It’s amazing how big those Saturn V rockets are. We saw a bunch of the rockets and planetarium show. It was definitely worth the stop. We got to Pensacola Tuesday night. Had dinner and called it a night. It’s a strange area. There are some run down houses and trailers and then we are in a nicer area with a new sub division. We got down to the beach a few time and have found some really good restaurants. A lot of good seafood. All fresh caught and filleted. 

Time for bed tonight. Tomorrow morning is my shakeout and then pit setup. More tomorrow!

And a week later I realized I never finished writing this and it is what it is. 

Race Recap:

I was ready to suffer and never got the chance. 

We got going early in the morning and had breakfast. We all had breakfast and were packed and in the car earlier than predicted. This is where the first snag of the day was. It was an hour drive from our AirBnB to the race venue. Maddi and Nick wanted to stop and get starbucks. They did an online order and we got on our way. The starbucks was only a few minutes away on our route so it shouldn’t have been a big deal. It took over half an hour to get our order. I was boardline panicking that it was cutting into my prep time and trying to stay calm. Finally we got our order, just one spot ahead of Peter who walked in and ordered then got on our way. On the ride I was going over my plan and thinking about what I needed to do. 

We got to the venue about 9:30. I hopped out of the car and let my Dad, Maddi and Nick get the gear out. It was only my 2 tool boxes and a cart. I couldn’t help much and the starbucks stop took longer than I wanted so I let them work a bit. I grabbed my bag and went to the tent. I wanted to get there, meet up with a few people, get a clarification on a few of the obstacle rules from the RD and get my phone calls in. I dropped my gear and then made my normal prerace call to my mom. After that I wandered around and called Coach Bruce for a last minute strategy chat. He had given me paces that I thought were aggressive to start a 24 hour race at. Like usual he was right and the paces worked great. 

I got back to the tent about 10:45 and started getting my race gear on. We were told that we needed to be in the start chute by 11:30AM. While I was getting ready someone told me they wanted Elites in the chute by 11:00. I completely ignored that as I had a bunch to do and couldn’t believe they expected us in there that early instead of being the last ones in. I got ready and took a banana, a couple pieces of gum and my handheld water bottle with tailwind to the corral. I weaved my way right to the front and saw the Elite group relaxing on the ground or standing in small groups. I got in and worked my way over by Abhi, who was on the other side of the fence chatting with the racers, and we talked for a few minutes. I then worked my way up to the front and found a spot by the Hannah Carta, Dave Carta and Nick Artis. We all sat on the ground and listened somewhat to the prerace briefing and Sean’s speech. I was focused on so many other things that I don’t remember much of the briefing or the speech. I’m hoping someone has it on their phone and I get to listen to it. I still have and remember the first WTM speech I heard from Sean in Vegas. “Nobody is better than your best. Your best will make you better and that will make us all better” 

With about 3 minutes to noon they told us to stand up and get ready. It’s amazing how those 3 minutes can go by so fast and feel like an eternity. They started the 10 second countdown and we were off. Some runners went out for the hot lap the day before. A lot of of us were seeing the terrain and obstacles for the first time. We all moved at a good pace. I was in the front pack after about a quarter mile and saw I was running at a sub 7 pace. I quickly slowed down to mid 7s to pace myself. I wanted to go slower but the terrain was so runable and it felt really comfortable so I pulled back a bit. This was me running my own race. I know I’m not a fast runner. I can hold a decent pace for a while but burn out if I go to fast. I wanted to run as long as I could and through the race it was paying off. The course was flatter than expected. It was completely runable and we did. I think this actually hurt a bunch of us because we never got a break. 

I finished my first lap in 38:21. A pace of 7:40min/mile. That was perfect for me and right on pace for 100 miles. I dropped off my handheld water bottle and then swapped to my vest. Lap 2 started as fast as lap 1. I knew that the underwater tunnels opened at 1:00 and that it would have been possible to get there before we had to do it. It would save about 45 seconds that lap and stay dry and moving a bit longer. About half a mile away I was looking at my watch and told a few other racers that we had a chance to make it. We missed it by 34 seconds. Good or bad we had to get wet. Luckily the water was warm and felt good. It was a great feeling that the water temp was going to stay warmer than the air through the night. Next up about half a mile away from the underwater tunnels was Coaches Canal. Coach was already out there rocking out. They had the blacked out tunnel, menthol gas and smoke going strong. I like that gas. It helps anyone like me with sinus issues. Saves from having to use smelling salts or other antihistamines. 

Lap 3 was another smooth lap. The feet spinner was open this lap. It was deceptively difficult. Running by the first few laps we chatted that it would be simple. I think at this point I was running with Trevor, Dave Carta and Steph Bishop. We all got to Satan’s Mustache at the same time. This obstacle is a heavy net with another heavy net on top and a blackout tarp on top of that. Its a physically demanding and annoying obstacle. Cawling under that net for 40-50 feet will drain you. I had to do it multiple times in Atlanta and Laughlin alone. When we got there Trevor took charge and called out that we were going to leap frog though it. We got started and he called out who was moving and when to stand up. We FLEW through that obstacle almost effortlessly. A little teamwork makes the dreamwork. 

The next few laps were pretty smooth as well. More obstacles opened but nothing was really that challenging. They all became a little bit of a blur as we kept going. There wasn’t really much alone time on the laps. I was always with someone chatting. At one point I was with Evan and we were thinking we were going to upset that prediction of low miles. Everyone seemed to be crushing miles early setting us up for a good finish. 

Some of the highlights I remember was later in the night running with Ean and then later Josh Fiore because they both lost their headlamps. Josh lost his on the slide when it came off and opened up sending batteries everywhere. He just continued on and we met up early on what I think was lap 10 for me. He was a lap ahead of me at that point. We got to the Feet Spinner he struggled a bit but got through it. I failed it after struggling at the last bit. The previous lap I had managed to complete it but took a wicked fall. See the Worst Moment section below for the details. That fall rocked me pretty good. Nothing serious but then after 8 hours of running I was getting tired and those grip obstacles were becoming more and more challenging. Most of the race I kept telling my pit to have cold gear ready but then wouldn’t take it for another lap. I was running slightly chilly the whole time but never cold. The key is to keep moving. The water in some of the obstacles was warmer than the air. It was the opposite of Atlanta where the temps dipped into the 20s and the water was cold. I always looked forward to the underwater tunnels / Statue of Liberty to warm up (and pee). I was running strong and still feeling good on lap 13.

I remember doing a little bit of math and realized that if I could keep up another two laps at about 90 minutes I could slow down a little bit and then would have 7.5 hours to do my last 25 miles. That should have been plenty of time and I was planning on having 2 hours for my last loop. I knew 3AM -6AM was going to be the coldest of the night. I still wasn’t cold and feeling good. That’s about when the wheels came off and caught fire. I finished 13. Resupplied quick and took off walking with some soup to the start line. I made it about 100 feet before I got a little dizzy and felt off. I didn’t want to try to go through neuro like that so I doubled back to the tent. I sat down and my mind was foggy. I couldn’t think what I needed and Nick and Maddi weren’t sure either. After a few minutes of sitting I got really cold. We decided to get me out of my wet clothes and into warm dry clothes. This was a big mistake. Once I was there I went into Eddies tent and tried to warm up. I asked for Elliot and text him to see if he could come help. Apparently he came by 3 times and I don’t remember. I was in the pit for almost 4 hours before rallying and heading back out. 

What I needed and should have done was to change into a dry baselayer, get my wetsuit on, get about 600 calories in me, a plan for another 400 calories after 14 and a kick in the ass to get back on course. I didn’t realize how little I was actually fueling. The colder temperatures meant that the 200-300 calories and hour should have been closer to 400 calories an hour. After a few hours the sun came up and I started to get back to the point where I could go back out. Jack was getting ready to head back out and I wanted to try to go with him. I wasn’t sure how much I could run after sitting for so long. I got warmed up walking around the pit and my gear on. I headed back out about 7AM with the goal of 2 more laps and to at least walk away with another silver bib. It took me 3 years to get my first one and I wasn’t going home without it this year. 

I headed out and got up Mudderhorn. Instead of doing the slide I opted for the croquet penalty. I didn’t want to get wet until I absolutely had to. That was a fast enough penalty at that point that it was worth it. Same with Everest. When I got there Francis told me they would help but the ramp had iced up. It would have been a struggle if I was fresher so I opted for the quick run with oversized pajamas penalty. The rest of the obstacles and penalties weren’t bad. I was struggling to run so I just managed a good fast walk / power hike. Towards the end of the loop, maybe it was at Satan’s Mustache, I buddied up with Charlie Boher. He was pitting next to me and was moving at about the same pace. We finished that lap together and headed out for our last lap together. Plenty of time on the clock for us to get done what we wanted. Charlie wanted his brown bib and I wanted my silver. I had a few more bands than him so we talked about what obstacles I was going to bypass but said I would wait on him. It was nice to have someone to walk and talk with. Especially the lifetime Holy Grail champion. We made it through that last loop together and made the second to last turn to the finish line. I told him once we hit the timing mat we are going to jog it in. We took off our wetsuit hoods, hit the mat and went at a very slow jog to cross the finish line next to each other. 

The finish line never disappoints. Clinton and Sean were there along with a bunch of others all cheering us on. It was a great feeling. I stopped there and gave both of them a hug and then saw Sharkbait with the bottle of fireball. After that effort I couldn’t pass that up. I walked over to get a hug and a shot. There are some good pictures of me from that. I was focused on that bottle and ignoring my dad calling for me for a picture. I had things to do. We were official finishers at that point and went to collect our mileage bibs and headbands. We were done with World’s Toughest Mudder 2022. 

The Bad:

A simple mistake cost me so much time. I was on pace for 100 and still moving good. By my math if I could have kept up that comfortable pace with all the obstacles for 3 more hours I would have been easily able to get my laps in. Unfortunately I wasn’t fueling properly. I was eating but nowhere near enough. After lap 13, I pitted quick and then was walking towards the start line with some soup and got a little dizzy. I decided to double back to the tent and figure something out. I wasn’t thinking straight. I sat down and wasn’t sure what I needed. I started to get cold so I got out of my wet gear and tried to warm up. Hypothermia was setting in. By the time I was out of my wet gear I was freezing. We tried to warm me up but it was taking too long. What I really needed was about 600 calories, my neptune and my wetsuit to get me back in the race. With a plan to get another 300-400 calories after the next lap. Instead, we didn’t know what to do so I got into dry clothes and couldn’t figure what to do until I was back thinking ok. That cost me about 4 hours of race time and some slow laps after.  

The Good:

With what went sideways on me and prevented me from hitting my A-goal, I have to accept the fact that I had a lot of fun at this race. I didn’t have any serious injuries aside from a few bumps and bruises. 24 hours of obstacles and running will do that. I also learned what I need to do when it’s that cold. 

My favorite highlight is that beautiful Black Elite Contender Bib. It felt good to be one of the big kids and true competitor with them. Even though I still feel a little more unknown than them, they were all great to compete with and I hope to earn that status again next year. Those guys and girls all inspire me and I hope to be like them when I grow up. I especially want to be as cool as Hannah Carta some day. 

Moral of the Story:

This wasn’t the year I wanted. My orange jacket and 100 mile bib were right in reach until a silly mistake came back to hit me. It took me 3 years to understand enough to get my silver bib. This year I got it easily. I’m stronger, faster and smarter than when I first started. I have just under a year to get ready to try again. 

I wasn’t super happy about thinking that I was going to solo this race again. It’s a brutal training block that by the end of it I just want to be done. After the race and brunch I can’t imagine not going back and being with everyone and trying again. This race was just too much fun this year. 

Best Moment:

The highlight of this race for me had to be getting my black Elite Contender Bib. I did it without a crazy killer effort in Chicago Infinity and it helped me so much during the race. It was fun to be part of the group of big kids and feel special. We got to start right at the front. When I got to the corral they had blocked off space for 200 people to give us room. There were only 40 or so of us. It gave us the opportunity to hang out and get ready with a little more comfort. We also got some on course priority. When I failed Chunky Monkey i wasn’t even out of the water yet and the volunteer was making a path for 2 Elites to go to the front of the penalty line. 

Worst Moment:

The worst moment on the course had to be my fall. I think it was on lap 9. I was on Feet Spinner after completing it multiple times, I reached up and hit the bell a little off balance. I must have done this obstacle at least 5 times by now and had a technique down. I would hit the bell and then slide down on the platform and do my best wrecking ball impression for a second and then get off safely. This time when I hit the bell I came off hard. I landed flat on my back. My head whipped back and slammed on the ground. I opened my eyes to the volunteer and another racer standing over me asking if I was ok. I told them I was going to lay there for a moment and then they helped me up and I got moving again. My head hurt. I must have slammed my jaw because my teeth were sore. A quick check and my teeth were all there and intact. I had a flashback to that time I bit a hockey puck and got 4 teeth rebuilt. I moved quickly to the next obstacle, double rainbow. I got there and another racer told me blood was running down my face. My headlamp came down and hit me on the nose when I fell. It gave me a nice cut. There was nothing I could do so I just did the obstacle and moved on. 

Funniest Moment:

A bunch of us were going through underwater tunnels Sunday morning and making comments about the water getting colder and us peeing in it. There was a TMHQ guy there videoing us. I assumed it was for the highlight video. We were really on the livestream standing in the water talking about peeing in the water while peeing in the water. The TMHQ guy walked with us for a bit and then told us we were on the live stream during that. 

I want to go back and see if I can find this live stream.

Map:

Results: 

https://toughmudder.com/endurance-results-leaderboard/?eventid=225090

Gear:

• Altra Lone Peak 6

• Altra Superior 5

• Altra Superior 4.5

• 2XU 3/4th tights

• Salomon Adv Skin 5 vest - red

• Salomon Adv Skin 5 vest - blue

• Injinji compression socks

• Smart wool socks

• REI wool socks

• Wool socks from TJ

• Gorilla gloves

• Bleggmit Extreme 

• Swim goggles

• Seadoo shorty wetsuit 

• 1mm wetsuit top

• Swim cap

• Neptune

• Frog skin top

• Farmer John wetsuit bottoms 

• Orange windbreaker 

• Black windbreaker 

Nutrition:

• Tailwind

• Fitaid

• Body armor 

• Watermelon 

• Applesauce 

• Maple syrup 

• Instant mashed potatoes 

• Brownies 

• Chicken nuggets 

• Soup

• Girl Scout cookies

Aka not enough for a 24 hour effort