Dirty Girl!

• Mismatched neon knee-highs-check!
• Pig Tails - check!
• Pink ribbon in pig tails - check!
• Bikini bottoms under shorts, just in case...check!
• Eyeline, lip gloss - double check!
• "Dirty Girl" written on face - check!

Looks like I was ready to...rollerskate?  Try and pay children's admission into the movies??  No!  Ready to get dirty and race!

The Dirty Dash 10k  was set for July 9th in Kent, Washington.  I had a Groupon deal for the race and registered myself and my husband, Jeff.  I finally decided on what to wear Friday night after a hunt through Goodwill.  When I found myself singing all the words to a Wham! song while in the thrift shop, I caught myself and immediately exited the building.  I knew at that moment nothing good would come of this shopping trip.

Jeff was called in to work the weekend and after repeated attempts to give away his bib to another runner, I headed out Saturday morning at 7:00 am solo.  A quick stop at a Rest Area brought some quick glances my way.  Society has gotten pretty open-minded and nonchalant when they see people dressed...differently?  You can insert your own descriptive word here: ______________________

I worried that my directions were wrong as I headed down Highway 18 going past the Kent exit.  It seemed the exits were drawn out quite a bit and relief settled in as I saw the next exit that would take me to the Motorsports complex.   Parking was easy and I made my way to the packet pickup. 

I had plenty of time to return my bag to the car and found the Dirty Girls in the parking lot.  We headed back to the start area and Leah Thompsen wrote "Dirty Girl" on my face.  No, I wasn't part of their team today but they still accept me as one of their own.

I had time for a quick trip to the porta-potty, got back in time for a Jimmi Hendrix rendition of the National Anthem and with a 3, 2, 1 we were sent on our way after a quick description of the race course.   

I started toward the front of the pack and after running a short section on pavement, we headed up a dirt hill that ended with a water hosing.  Onward we scaled wooden walls and I used the trusses to help me get up and over.  Every obstacle has the option of going around it, otherwise known as being a chicken, scaredy cat, cowardly lion or some other timid animal.   There were a number of walls to climb and then we were faced with stacked tires.  I climbed them and hopped over while guys around me took superhero leaps to jump on the tires and flung their bodies to the other side.  2 mud pits with pipes to either go over or under gave us our first opportunity to get muddy.  The first pit was barely muddy but the second one was knee deep in muck!  Yay!  A big monster down hill along a rocky trail separated the runners even further. 

A steep incline forced me to a walk and we climbed through a wooden structure at the top.  A rocky trail invited us to turn our ankles but I declined the invitation.  I met another woman runner, Melanie, who was running with her friend but at their own paces.  She will be running the Warrier Dash next weekend in North Bend.  After we climbed another wooden ladder-type structure, 2 sets of balance beams were wating for us.  I didn't fall!  I kept thinking, "strong core, walk easily".  My legs had been feeling a little wobbly running on the trail so I surprised myself.

Next up, chugalug!  This is the "secret" obstacle revealed on race day.  Anyone 21 or older could get a wrist band and would drink a beer before continuing on the course.  You had the option of drinking root beer.  That was my choice.  Since I don't normally drink beer or any other alchol and I was driving myself and my ID was in my car, root beer was it!  I have to say at this point I'd seen runners going around obstacles but they were somehow able to swig a beer.  I popped the top and began chugging Root Beer. 

Urrp!  Excuse me!  I headed down the course, climbed over another wooden ladder and we ran past the parking lot and it was fun to see so many runners.  The race had a lot of waves throughout the day so they were seeing what was in store for them ahead of time.  I scrambled through a couple black "tunnels" and ran back toward the finish area. 

I saw the giant water slide ahead and without hesitation dove head first down into a muddy puddle!  So Fun!  The final mud pit was just ahead and I was disappointed to find it just muddy water and not really mud.  I had expected there to be ropes to crawl under but instead, I ran through it and found the finish line around the corner.  That's where having a friend with you would have been great because there is no way a good friend would let you get away with walking or running through the last pit without a little wrestle in the mud. 

I didn't see a finish line clock and really don't know my time yet (July 9th).   Felt slow and the course had to be short of 10k.  I'd like to do another race like this but next time, have a friend with me.  I hope the race director remeasures the course and let's us know what the "real" distance was.  Maybe it was a 10k and all the fun I had made it seem shorter.  Maybe.

No splits for this race since I didn't wear any jewelery or a watch.  I hope to do another 10k trail run in Port Gamble tomorrow.   There are only 13 days until Ragnar Relay!  Woop!

The pictures (thanks, Tony Seabolt!):

Clean!

Wee!

That was fun!

Ta-Da!  Such a dork!

Next time I'm having a friend to drag me through the mud!

True Dirty Girls