Welcome

Welcome!
Welcome to our new blog. The goal of this blog is to allow anyone interested to look in on our steps to completing a Muddy Buddy race in 2009. Hopefully we can keep a well documented track of our training regiment, trials and tribulations, expectations, frustrations and a full account of the race.

Who are we?
We are a newly wed couple (October 11, 2008, our wedding survived Hurricane Ike!). We met each other in school at Texas A&M University at Galveston and have been together ever since. We both grew up in families that placed a lot of emphasis on being active and healthy. We both played sports growing up and eventually transitioned into the gym.

Why the Muddy Buddy?
With 2009 right at our heels, we were talking about what we would like to accomplish in the new year. Not so much what resolutions we should make since we both believe that we live a nice, well balanced life already and aren't looking for major changes... But, what would we like to improve...? We came up with the idea that we should make a conscious effort to improve three areas of our lives; our mind, body and soul. We discussed doing some art and dance classes, going to more musical events, joining some area charitable clubs etc...

While we still have intentions to do these things, we began to focus on where we wanted to grow in the new year, physically. We go to the gym Mon. - Thurs. We have a good workout program focused on light cardiovascular activity and weight training. This program works well for us and we have seen vast improvements in strength and muscularity, but the same thing, day in and day out can become a little disconnecting. We wanted to try something new and fun that would help us bond, would require team work and would push us out of our comfort zone.

We recalled a story from a friend at school about a two person team running and biking race. The plus side, the race wasn't solely about winning. The event was meant to be fun! There was a giant mud pit that all competitors had to crawl through to finish the race, there were randomly placed obstacles like rope nets that everyone had to climb, and there was an awesome party afterward with a full beergarden! This sounded fun! We began researching online to try to find the name of this race, google made quick work and we jumped into the Muddy Buddy website.

What is Muddy Buddy?
From the Muddy Buddy Website, Muddy Buddy is Two Buddies + One Mountain Bike + One Mondo Mud Pit = The Best Time of Your Life! To break it down further... Both partners start at the same time, one running and one biking. The course is approximately 6 miles long and is separated into 5 legs by obstacles along the way. The first obstacle is near the one mile mark. Assuming that the biker is traveling faster than the runner, the biker will first approach the obstacle transition area. The biker will drop the bike and conquer the obstacle and start running to the 2nd transition/obstacle. The runner will then approach the first transition area, conquer the obstacle, find the bike and start riding to the 2nd transition/obstacle area. The team will continue to leap frog throughout the course switching between biking and running. Because the course has five legs, the person who is the stronger biker should begin the race biking, and the stronger runners, should start out running so they are doing three legs of their stronger discipline, and two of the other. There will be five obstacles on each Muddy Buddy course. Mystery events could be challenges such as a cargo net crawl, a wall, monkey bars, or a hay bale obstacle. At every race teams will have to conquer the famous Mud Pit before crossing the finish line together.

How Do We Plan On Training?
Well, first of all, and quite important, we are going to be buying some decent mountain bikes in the new year. Nothing professional or anything, but something that will stand the test of time. From there, we are going to start working on trail jogging riding. Luckily, we have some great trails just down the road from our house in Seabrook, TX. We will also begin attending some of the spin classes at our gym. Yeah, going to kick our asses. We are most likely ready for the event now since it really only requires someone to be able to trail run three miles and mountain bike three miles, but we are going to prepare early and safely.

Here We Go!
So, follow us on our journey into 'funventure' racing and read up on our ups and downs. Leave us comments and let us know what you think! Thanks for stopping by!

-Rick & Steph