You all know by now that I have a crazy, Wonder Woman wife, right?! I can't begin to tell you how much she amazes me to no end. Just sit back and watch!
Once she heard there would be a Mud and Water Challenge in nearby Maurik (42 km away), she started getting excited, wondering if she should or shouldn't do it. I, of course, piped up when I saw her excitement and said it sounded like she'd kick herself forever if she DIDN'T do it.
BINGO.
And that's when she started full-fledged training to get in shape, just a month before the 4+ km race with 42 obstacles. The race part was a no-brainer, since she runs 5 km twice a week in 30 minutes. But it was everything else that needed build-up...especially of her upper arms and body.
You couldn't have asked for a better day, warm and sunny!
This was the last race ("wave") of the day, starting at 5 p.m., for 90 participants,
parents with their 8-13-yr-old kids.
Legends (age 60+) were also invited but Astrid discovered at registration that she was the only one!
(EVM stands for Island of Maurik which is a recreation area on the Nederijn river.)
You can see how crazy this race was and why I couldn't document everything by NOT participating.
The 42 challenges ended at the podium that had to be climbed for the completion medal.
All good races start with a warm-up, of course...
And then they were off-n-running.
The good thing was there were options for conquering the obstacles.
If Astrid couldn't climb a hurdle, she could use the ladders available, which she did.
One of the first obstacles was hurdling the water tires.
Don't you love how Astrid refused to give up!
No sooner was one obstacle completed before she was faced with the next.
Lucky for me, I was still close enough to catch what she was doing.
Someone on Facebook called her GI Jane. Another said Ninja Warrior.
I like that. :)
After 5 or 6 attempts on this challenge, Astrid knew she could never make it...and so moved on.
There was nothing to grab onto while making a running start up the inflatible slide.
Way off in the distance I could capture this muddy slide but not while Astrid completed it.
She said she had to slide down on her butt. HA!
By now you totally get why this is a "mud and water" challenge!
I waited half an hour here for Astrid to appear, enjoying the parents with kids who came first.
What a trooper!
Who says you can't enjoy playing in the mud!
Still smiling after that!
Astrid says this was the hardest of all 42 obstacles.
After crossing the horizontal rope ladder, you had to climb down the tires at the end.
Just when she decided she couldn't do it, a volunteer encouraged her,
telling her the easiest way to accomplish it was on hands and knees. He was right.
At one of the obstacles she could NOT complete (not enough upper-body strength),
she stopped to chat and I joined her to give her a drink of water.
The volunteers said, "You're the Legend, aren't you!"
YUP!
Off-n-running again. No rest for the weary.
Here's another obstacle to which she said NO. There were 7 of them she didn't even try.
She had made that commitment, which I applauded.
Know thyself. NO means NO.
I loved the seesaw at the end of this one.
Up, down, up down, throughout this scaffolding maze...
...to the final real mud and water challenge.
I can imagine how refreshing the water must have felt by then.
At that point I left for the Finish line to meet Astrid there,
capturing impressions along the way.
Look at that smile, 1.5 hours after she started the race.
For her it wasn't a competition against time or the others.
It was simply the "competition" to FINISH the race.
The last, 42nd obstacle of the race was to climb the podium and receive her medal.
The official portrait by the designated photographer
(with mud still on her face)!
Well done, Astrid.
You're the Wonder Woman Legend, the GI Jane and Ninja Warrior of them all.
P.S. In Dutch the word for obstacle is almost the same as in English, except that the Dutch
put the emphasis on the second syllable: ob-STA-kel. Don't you love it! :)
If Astrid couldn't climb a hurdle, she could use the ladders available, which she did.
One of the first obstacles was hurdling the water tires.
Don't you love how Astrid refused to give up!
Lucky for me, I was still close enough to catch what she was doing.
I like that. :)
There was nothing to grab onto while making a running start up the inflatible slide.
She said she had to slide down on her butt. HA!
I waited half an hour here for Astrid to appear, enjoying the parents with kids who came first.
What a trooper!
After crossing the horizontal rope ladder, you had to climb down the tires at the end.
telling her the easiest way to accomplish it was on hands and knees. He was right.
she stopped to chat and I joined her to give her a drink of water.
The volunteers said, "You're the Legend, aren't you!"
YUP!
She had made that commitment, which I applauded.
Know thyself. NO means NO.
I can imagine how refreshing the water must have felt by then.
capturing impressions along the way.
For her it wasn't a competition against time or the others.
It was simply the "competition" to FINISH the race.
(with mud still on her face)!
Well done, Astrid.
You're the Wonder Woman Legend, the GI Jane and Ninja Warrior of them all.
P.S. In Dutch the word for obstacle is almost the same as in English, except that the Dutch
put the emphasis on the second syllable: ob-STA-kel. Don't you love it! :)
Astrid, you are the Iron Woman for sure. Wow! What a race!
ReplyDeleteGinnie, you documented the race beautifully and with love! Wonderful!
I'll have to add Iron Woman now to the list, Marie, thanks to you. :) Thanks for following the fun!
DeleteOh my, I know that I would never ever be able to do half of this. Astrid!!! You are one heckuva woman!!
ReplyDeleteI know, Ruth. She really IS one heckuva woman, isn't she! :)
DeleteI am so glad you were the trooper with me to document this Mud&Water Challenge. Before the race I already made the decision that I would not do anything that I knew I could not to. I know I am not 20 anymore HA... It was fun from the beginning to the end. I never had the thought "what did I do" WHILE I was in the race. Before I had my doubts, however I prepared good and when my mind is set on something, I am determined to finish what I start. The shirt I am wearing is the "INQ" brand, that stands for "I NEVER QUIT".... that about covers it all. Thank you, Ginnie for all these pictures and video's, we both had a fabulous afternoon together. IHVJ.
ReplyDeleteThe INQ brand...WOW! That's wonderful, Astrid. How appropriate! No one will ever be able to say of you that you are a quitter, that's for sure. You really are my SHERO! I'm the lucky one who got to document it for us both.
DeleteWow!!! I almost felt all the adrenaline right along with Astrid!!! sooo exciting!! and it was I who called her GI Jane lol... well, it probably came to mind for others too!!
ReplyDeleteAstrid, you AMAZE me!!!
thanks for documenting this, Ginnie!!
Another friend also called her GI Jane, Elaine, so you're of like mind, indeed! How fun. Son Jeroen has already asked if he can join her next year for another 5 km mud race. HA! We'll see if THAT happens.
DeleteAstrid really amazes me, but I know she is a very tough and courageous lady - my great respect and congratulations. It is wonderful that you, Ginnie, photographed many points of this race, esp. the difficult obstakels! Thasnk you very much!
ReplyDeleteThat Astrid really is a tough and courageous lady, Philine, and I love her to death. I feel honored to be the one who could document this race. :) Thanks for following it with us.
DeleteAMAZING is all I can say! Wow, wow, wow!
ReplyDeleteShe's quite the Amazon Woman, Robin, isn't she! :)
Delete