Today we did the Merrell Down & Dirty Mud Run in Detroit. After waking up at the most ungodly hour (aka 5:00am), Wayne and I got ready to run the 5K race at 8:15am. The mud race was held at Kensington Metropark in Milford, MI.
Before the race
Everyone started off in different heats. So, Wayne and I were in the 10 minute mile heat. I started off pretty fast and got ahead. I felt pretty in shape but there were a TON of hills so I had to be careful not to break an ankle by tripping over a rock or root. I pretty much either slowly jogged or walked up the hills. Honestly, I think the hills were the worst part since it's grueling running up hills. But I think that the obstacles were what made the race so much fun and unique. There were a number of obstacles we had to complete along with running on wooded trails and hills. There was a low wall, 6 foot wall, low crawl, tunnels, a slippery mountain, an inflatable climb, the water crossing and two mud pits!
Wayne focused and ready
Emma giving thumbs up
It was good that Wayne and I made sure to work out a lot over the summer. Although we're
apart (Wayne being in Chicago while I'm in Michigan job searching) we still made an effort to try and become pretty fit for the race.
Wayne jumping over after climbing the high wall
Me on the slippery mountain pulling myself up
So, on the slippery mountain. They have an incline ramp that they spray
with soap and water. You have to pull yourself up on the rope without
using your feet. I think working out paid off. I'm able to do 18 regular push ups. So pulling my body weight on the ramp wasn't that bad. Wayne has a lot of upper body strength so the obstacles weren't that bad for him. His main focus was on the cardio. My cardio wasn't that bad, I just wanted to make sure I could lug my body around if I had to.
THE MUD!
Everyone pretty much
slowed down when they got to the water crossing in the lake. The lake
felt really good since we were all sweaty. And the mud! I think the mud
was the best part! At the end of the race you have to crawl through a
huge mud pit towards the finish line. The only downside to the mud was I
got mud in my contact lenses! lols.
WE FINISHED! <3
After the race we
cleaned up and decided to take a short walk around the park. It was a
good thing we did, otherwise we wouldn't have seen the sand hill cranes!
They're the largest bird in North America and for Jurassic Park they
used them as inspiration for the Velociraptors in the movie. There were
3 baby sand hill cranes and their mother. I think that people must feed
them because we were able to get really close to them. I thought it was
really cool to see these graceful birds walking around in nature.
The mother crane
The three babies
Our dog tags and t-shirts
I'm really proud of
Wayne doing this with me. What makes him amazing is that he's always up
for trying something new and pushing himself to be the best. And what
made this even better was that we had a total blast doing this together!
Because that's what
mattered the most to me. I just wanted to have fun, be healthy and do
something together as a team. So, although we are utterly exhausted
we're really happy since it was totally worth it in the
end! :)
Wayne writing...What would a post be without a discussion on food!?
So I was visiting Emma this weekend and was promised some awesome crepes. And I was not disappointed one bit. The place was called What Crepe? and is located in the beautiful suburban neighborhood of Birmingham, MI. We got dinner yesterday night.
When I walked in, I thought I was in a Tim Burton and Johnny Depp movie with the dim lighting and mixture of Gothic and a medieval setting. The place definitely has that spook meets classic look to it that I find to be creative and risky. But they seem to pull it off.
Now my favorite part, THE FOOD! First came the dessert (that's how we roll), the "Nutty Monkey, which comprised of bananas, warm Nutella, vanilla bean ice cream, candied pecans, powdered sugar, and whipped cream. The moment my eyes landed on it, my mouth started to flood. Warm Nutella seems to go well with anything, but it especially stands out with vanilla bean ice cream and the candied pecans. We're BIG Nutella fans so we definitely enjoyed this dish.
I had "The Obvious" which is chicken, spinach, pecans, caramelized apples, and feta. Much of the flavor of the chicken came from the caramelized apples and its juices. It tasted somewhat Caribbean actually. Each bite though seemed different. One bite I could distinctly taste the pecans, but then the other the feta stood out. All delicious though.
Emma consumed the "Crepe? De Crevette" which features marinated shrimp, fire roasted peppers, asparagus, grape tomatoes, and homemade curried clam sauce. The curried clam sauce blended superbly with the texture of the shrimp and crispiness of the asparagus. It carried out a Mediterranean flavor with its combination of meats, spices, and grilled vegetables.
As always,
"The Couple that Grubs Together Stays Together"
-Grub Couple-
