Lessons from today's Tough Mudder

Yesterday, the morning before the race, when the NFO asked me if I was excited, of course my answer was "yes."

But, more than that, I was feeling proud.

4.5 months ago, I had set out an aggressive training schedule and had accomplished everything I set out to do (and then some).  Even more than that, I was glad that my kids had seen a daily dedication in action (it's difficult for them to measure progress in terms of PowerPoint slides or Facebook fans.)

By the day before the race, I was ready. Maybe even in the best shape of my life and I felt like a football player on the eve of the Super Bowl. I was just trying to stay calm and loose.

A big storm rolled through the area and knocked out power for a few hours, but fortunately, the generator kicked in, so my stress levels were minimal.

By 10pm on Sat. night, my clothes were out, my strategy was clear, and I was in bed, ready for the 5.45am wake-up.

Things started to go awry at 2am when I woke up...and though I lay in bed for 1 hour, I couldn't fall back asleep. 

By that point, I didn't know what to do, so I got up and figured I'd do some work for a bit and see what would happen. Worst case scenario, I'd have to just power through the course on 4 hours of sleep. Not ideal, but what was I going to do.

After pulling out my laptop, ready to start blogging, I noticed my email.

From ToughMudder.

Mudders,



We are deeply disappointed to have to announce that Tough Mudder Mid-Atlantic Sunday must be canceled due to flooding and safety concerns. Yesterday's rain left us with an extremely waterlogged course, base area and parking area, which all  prevent critical functions from keeping you safe. Our safety team spent considerable time working with local authorities to reevaluate the course this evening and have ultimately determined it unsafe for tomorrow's event. Safety has and always will be our top priority without compromise, so we must heed this decision.  

We did not make this decision lightly, and we are sure it will be met with great disappointment. We are committed to bringing you an amazing experience, so you will be receiving a transfer code on Monday that you can use to participate free of charge in any upcoming 2012 or 2013 Tough Mudder event. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please email midatlantic@toughmudder.com.

Again, we truly apologize for the frustration this will cause. Our mission is to build the best endurance challenge on the planet, and we hope to have another chance to give you the experience that you expect from us.   

Thank you for your support and understanding.

TMHQ

Disappointed? You bet.

Though I suppose that if the objective of the Tough Mudder was to create mental toughness and resiliency, then it did that....and I didn't even have to do the course.

As for what's next? Hard to say. It's 4am and the NFO is still sleeping. Admittedly, she's sacrificed a lot for this and I would understand if she's not so excited about doing any more.

Updated: Looks like there is more to the story than is being told.