Toughest WEST

I'm finally writing about Toughest West several weeks later.  Why you ask? Well like most of us non-professional OCR enthusiasts I've been going non stop with a job, travel, 3 active teen and preteen kids, a loving very understanding wife and  the husky that all demand various degrees of attention.  Plus at 50 I'm always craving either a snack, glass of red wine or a nap and wishing I could train the mega miles like I used to do when I did Ironman Triathlons twenty years ago.  Now it feels like I barely train and really just want to sit down on the couch in front of the tv or peruse Facebook and NOT write because I have no time.  Writing to me is a lot like doing a Tough Mudder: While I never regret either afterwards getting started it is, well,  just -ug!  Writing that first paragraph is like the first muddy mile: breathing is off, no rhythm and everything hurts!  Excuses excuses!  But now I have 10 hours before me on Norwegian Airlines on my way to Toughest Europe which is the third of the six part Toughest Series leading up to Worlds Toughest in November and before dozing off I feel an urgency to tell you all about Toughest West.

No one knew exactly what to expect at the inaugural Toughest event located at the Glen Helen Speedway in San Bernardino, California this past March.  Sure several had competed at Worlds or had multi-lapped at Tough Mudders before but the Toughest series were offering an extra element of "Toughness" to them:  A MIDNIGHT start!  (Insert ominous drumroll here!) Take the worst parts of WTM ( the dark and cold) and condense them into a nice little "doable" eight hour package on an existing Tough Mudder course and voila!  Of course the diehards had begun their rant about how turning a TM event into a  race wasn't in the true spirit of Tough Mudder and Toughests ( and Toughers) were a terrible idea.  And  perhaps they were right to be concerned--after all would racing for $, placement or time  or wanting desperately  to be a "Contender" turn Mudders cut throat and only out for themselves?  Hmm Possibly!

I drove up from San Diego a little  on the late side arriving at 10 pm and was probably the last Toughest entrant to get my WTM esque bib- so late in fact that mine didn't even have a number on it which was a little problematic later in in the results and sadly no Gameface pics for me.  I brought a wheeled cart that I used at WTM with  a ton of stuff to include two wet suits, Camel Bak, 2 head lamps, wet suit hood, neoprene booties. Compression shirt, 2mm wet suit top, wool cap, and a wind breaker.  I could've brought gloves but they killl my grip so I didn't.  I was already wearing my Speedcross 3's ( I have yet to try the Merrill's), 2XU compression socks, tights and T-shirt and of course my 10x TM headband.  

For food I brought what I used at WTM:  Tailwind, 1 gallon of water, 2 x12 oz bottles Diet Coke ( for upset stomach and emergency caffeine), two cans of chicken noodle soup ( they had microwave in Pitt area), Kind bars, assorted squeeze baby foods, baked potatoes halved and heavily salted, mustard packs for cramps, 12 pack of chocolate Ensure, Gatorade, Gummy bears and Coffee flavored Gu paks. It was way too much I know. I trollied my cart to the pitt area: Two large tents which were packed with Mudders all frantically assembling gear. TM volunteers had put black tape on tables sectioning them off like pie charts but it seemed like every spot had been taken so I parked my cart at the far end of the tent and tried to partition the gear I would need the best I could.  Note to self bring a flashlight in addition to headlamp!  

We were summoned to the starting corral relatively early at 1115 where we waited for the rules and regs and dos and don'ts and we stood and paced about nervously; we all speculated about the course.  A few in the group had served as scouts and attended the Tough Mudder 16 hours prior and gave out valuable gauge that the second loop was hillier than the first and that Operation was the mystery obstacle.  The Man Sean Corvelle spoke and as always he got us fired up and motivated.  The big names were in attendance: Atkins, Chadwell, Jones, Campbell and Lyndsi Webster and other top WTM women. I spotted Will Dean himself on the sidelines taking his new creation in . Roughly 350 toed the line and when the gun finally went off it was a mad rush to get past the starting gates and smokey fire pits and to the front.    

Glen Hellen mind you is a motor cross course and the first half mile were rolling dirt mounds so I couldn't help feeling like a motor cross guy.  Vroom!  There were mud puddles every 200 feet or so which most of us steered around avoiding the inevitable.  First lap was said to be an obstacle free sprint lap so there was a strong desire to get out front and avoid lines as much as possible.  This frenzied pace, in addition to the fact that most of us had worn wetsuits, was soon evident in the throngs of people pulling off to the side of the trail unzipping and tugging down their wetsuits  to their waists.  Wetsuits were a bad call for it was just too darn warm out and I pulled off my 2mm top and chucked into the bushes and stripped down to my compression arms and tights with only my race bib covering my torso.  

At  mile one we hit the first of a series of awful hills that seemed to go up for several hundred feet only to drop straight back down. Loose dirt didn't help on the descents and I'm sure more than I took several diggers skinning up my hands and knees.   As we ran past and over obstacles like Devils Beard and  Mud Mile with its  carved out sections from the day Mudders  I tried to make a mental note of what was where.   Next came Pyramid with its modified 6 foot rope aides, Blockness whose water submersion I was already craving and the new Berlin Walls with a ledge at top that  I actually prefer.  Pretty soon the pack was nicely thinned out and I was running solo.  Yeah no lines!

Running in about 20th place at the three  mile mark I caught up to a few stragglers seemingly lost and coming back in my direction.  I recognized my Canadian buddy Joel Forsyth who I had the pleasure of going off course with at TM Wisconsin last year and reminded him of that.  It was a moment of levity in an otherwise dire situation: Getting lost in any race is the worst and long ago I lost the Alcatraz triathlon because of it!    And this was the only problem I had with Toughest West: There needed to be more lighting or at least more markings on where to go in that particular section.  No worries though as we figured it out laughed it off and went on our way.  Only thinking about it now do I realize it would have been very easy to cut the course right there.   

I finished the first loop well under an hour and skipped the Pitt high-fiving Sean on the way out to start another loop.  The first obstacle to open was a mud hole that only a hippo or true Mudder could enjoy.  Devil's Beard took some skin off my bare back and my head lamp got caught up in it for a precious second.  The steep rolling hills began again and I tried to slow step run them instead of going into walk mode so early in the game.  Yeah I need to work on hills especially for Toughest Whistler!  Camera crews were catching all the excitement at  Two Tired otherwise known as the  Tractor Tire hurdle: Really?!  I exchanged pleasantries with a few Mudders I knew and didn't know but had heard of by nick names like Shark Bait and Tex.  I always get a charge from simply saying something as cliche as "Good Job!"  passing or getting passed.  

Pyramid was a jump, reach and grab for the rope and posed no problem.  The key is to get on your feet and walk up the slick surface and throw back the rope for the next guy.  At Blackness it felt so good dousing off in the water I wanted to stay longer.  Three of us managed to spin both sections nicely and we up and overd them like OCR pros.  Skid marked and Berlin Walls were manageable and I noticed I was starting to pass a few that were still on their first lap.  I don't think I got lapped until I was on my third but I could be wrong.  I know Atkins and Chadwell were already duking it out and would both reach 50 miles each so they must have passed me in a blink of an eye on the course of during one of my Pitt stops.  

I took extra time on Everest to throw the rope with the little ball on it ala Grappler style up and over the triangular sections of wood at the top.  They had this rule that was kind of in effect that if the rope wasn't  let go by the person at top than you could use it to climb with. Once not in contact with someone the volunteer at the top would toss the rope down and it would have to be tossed up and reset again.  The regular method of tackling  Everest was also an option but my legs were heavy and I am a better rope climber than sprinter.  At the top I was assisted by a Mudder in her first lap and I reciprocated by hauling up the next Mudder behind me.  Good karma goes a long way in these events.  

I rounded my second lap running by the smokey fire pits opted to not take a break for food yet.  Lap three was deja vu all over again and I got into a nice rhythm of walk run paying attention to my running form and trying to stay up right as possible on the relentless hills, one of which was a single track section appropriately named "Death March".  I think everyone who did Toughest West will agree the hills were awful and definitely time sucks.  At about the 13 mile mark  and three hours in I began to bonk a bit.  I didn't bring any food along and there had only been two water stations on the course.  I'd promised myself I'd take a five minute or less Pitt stop after the third loop and I did just that chomping a few potatoes , slamming two Ensures and taking a selfie I texted to my sleeping wife with the message, "15 done.  I'm feeling good."  Positive self talk is always a good thing!

It seems like I went in and out of a surreal trance for the rest of the night.  Whether it was the fatigue, the midnight start or the nocturnal experience I found myself at times floating over the course and in utter bliss.  And then a hill would come up and I'd be in pain and wondered aloud how I could manage another up hill step.  My mind wandered to thinking how the second loop was supposedly hillier than the first!  I was awoken from my stupor by a volunteer telling me that the obstacles on the first loop were now closed and to skip them.  This was right before Blockness and I really needed a douse of water.  Still though skipping that obstacle saved time and I needed time to hit my goal of thirty miles.  It was another free lap of sorts and it went by very fast and then the Toughest really began!  I pitted again as a reward for doing 20 and downed two more Ensures and donned my mini Camel Bak with a stiff concentration of Tailwind.  I also put on a half wetsuit and a win breaker and wetsuit hood as I began to get chilled.  I took a shot of Diet Coke and anxiously set out to do the second loop of the course.

Up to this point aside from the hills  I really hadn't been challenged.  The obstacles were relatively easy and more of nuisances than challenges not that I was begging to get defeated ( I had failed an obstacle repeatedly for :30 at a Batttle Frog once and been DQd for it which was a harrowing experience). I should note here for simplicity and my own vague recollection I'm blending my 5th and 6th lap together.  Both laps were extremely familiar with exception of having day light on the second and final lap. First up was Hang Time - a modified King of Swingers/Double Rainbow that if done right would not only spare you a sand bag carry penalty but save you from getting wet.  At 4am the temperature dropped significantly and getting in the water didn't sound fun any more.  I leapt from the platform ledge, grasped the t-bar and swung out to a hanging section of cargo netting comprised of two inch nylon material measuring probably 6 feet long and 3 feet wide.  The key to this obstacle is to swing out and grab the netting with one hand and not let the t-bar go too soon.  Once you grab the net transfer your other hand and get your feet up and into the holes of the net to support your weight.  Then simply shimmy feet first down the plastic coated cable to the bottom.  Not so easy-  I failed both times and took the plunge!  Doh!  The water seemed colder and the sand bag carry  penalty had me feeling defeated especially since those around me seemed to be mastering it.    

Adding insult to injury was the newly renovated Arctic Enema with a drain pipe entryway and double dunk feature whereby you have to go under the ice water twice was probably the coldest I've ever experienced in 23 TM events!  Bravo TMHQ for making that one truly suck!  I left feeling like a drowned rat that had just escaped from a Big Gulp  Slurpee.  Serious  brain freeze.  The hills were now more evenly  spaced and more severe than the first loop.  There were sections that almost reduced me to all fours and I hadn't felt so taxed since climbing sections of  MT Blanc last year let alone doing TMs Tahoe and Colorado.  What went up soon came down and my least favorite Obstacle Operation appeared from no where--Ha! The Mystery obstacle.  It was probably the third blood-curling scream of some poor person getting shocked plus my own experience with EST and Electric Eel that prompted me to go straight to the penalty box without passing GO.  I scooped up my sand bag and did another penalty run.    

At Stage Five clinger I passed ERoc and Coach who had the cameras on them Hollywood style. I really like what those guys do for TM and seeing them gave me a boost of confidence.  The hills relented for a mile but it was hardly a reprieve as the trail became extreme single track with loose rocks, water and well best described it was a friggin creek bed of crappy footing ankle breaking awfulnesss. I matched the Mudder in front of me step for step at times cursing in German ( which she spoke) just for that vital laugh I needed for strength.  Always good to laugh when you are in crisis mode!    At least on the second time through it was light enough to see my footing and not rely on my head lamp to light the way.  The creek ended and we were climbing again and it was now apparent that although I would get thirty miles I couldn't possibly do this second loop under 1:30 let alone 1:00!  (Apparently Atkins did his last lap passing Trammel in :45!!).  

Funky Monkey--usually my favorite--was slick and I slipped off the second wheel into the drink again and went for another extra job for full benefit.  At WTM last year I took 37 penalties amounting to roughly 6 miles of extra mileage!  Not bueno!  The last obstacle of the day for me was Kong and I took my time ensuring my hands were dry and slightly tacky.  I poured a little Tailwind on my hands to I would stick to the rings. The penalty for failing was... gulp!  EST and I did not want to die!   So both times I swung from ring to ring successfully completing it.  Yeah!  The next 100 yards was an effortless skip to the finish line where Toughests Mudder finishers had already qued up,to receive their new Black 8 hour head bands, 25 mile and Toughest West patches and T-Shirts.    

Ryan Atkins went 50 miles and his wife Lyndsi Webster had gone an impressive 40 miles netting the Canadian couple a cool $15k for the weekend ($5k for first place and $5k for being first to go 50 miles).  I got out of my soggy clothes and basked in the sun and got my Toughest loot.  Originally I had planned on doing the Sunday Fun day Tough Mudder but I was spent.  I slammed another Diet Coke for sure measure climbed into my truck and drove home rather pleased with myself.

Stand by for belated report on Toughest South and Toughest Europe which I will be attempting tonight!