10 Questions Answered in Miami (Sort Of)

We began a 10 day series that posed a different question that we intended to answer at the Miami Mudder.  Some of these questions involved the team while others were directed at particular team members.  We were able to answer most of the questions in Miami.  A few will follow us to the Mid-Atlantic Mudder.  There is certainly a longer story or post behind each question but the short answers are below.

10.  Will running on both Saturday and Sunday in Miami be as challenging as doing two laps at the Carolina Mudder?

I'm sure DC and Patrick will be weighing in on this one as well.  It was definitely a challenge to run both days even though we actually ran faster the second day.  It could be the fact that we missed all of the official starts and had to make up time on Sunday.  

9.  Can we as a team avoid a major setback on the course?

Yes we can.  There were no major setbacks on either day.  We didn't lose anybody or need the assistance of the medics along the course.

8.  Will Brian overcome his fear of the newest obstacle “Dark Lightning”?

The answer to this question is still up in the air as the obstacle did not make an appearance in Miami.  While that obstacle did not appear we all developed a healthy aversion to the shocking obstacles.  The voltage seemed to be turned up this time on South Beach.  Check out the Amped Up videos here if you need additional proof!

7.  Will Patrick finally remove the monkey from his back by successfully completing the Funky Monkey obstacle?

This question was answered with a resounding "Yes" on both days.  As promised we captured video of this accomplishment which you can find here.

6.  Will DC’s regrouping made easy and regrouping sucks strategies pay off in Miami?

All of the regrouping that was noted through DC's posts paid off in a big way.  The shoulder and knee both held up remarkably across 24 miles and 44 obstacles.

5.  How will not knowing the obstacles and order of events impact our approach on the course?

Honestly, this really did not have a measurable impact.  I enjoyed not knowing what to expect as we went through the course.  

4.  Can we scale Everest without any help from teammates and fellow mudders?

We had a varied degree of success on this one.  Patrick scaled the ramp without assistance while DC's shoulder/knee would prevent his unassisted triumph.  This obstacle is also where it went all downhill for me on Saturday.  I was determined to use the spiderman technique and scale the wall by myself.  I was able to scale the wall by myself but I felt a pop in my calf as I reached the top.  I knew this feeling well because I have torn my calf a couple of times.  This would not spell bad news for "Team Bad News" as we went on to successfully finish Saturday's race and run even faster on Sunday!  

3.  How will the heat impact running the course in Miami?

The heat did not impact the course at all in Miami.  The heat actually did not really make an appearance until late in day 2.  DC and I agree that the first day could have been the coldest mudder ever.  Patrick disagrees since we ran Wintergreen when it was 39 degrees.  The weather ended up being a perfect balance for the obstacles that were placed on the course.

2.  What type of crazy mohawk will DC and I attempt to pull off in Miami?
Miami marked the first ever appearance of the sidehawk for DC.  Patrick had the locks flowing and I went with the standard hawk.  Patrick took pictures and documented it which you can find here.

1.  Will this be the race that we qualify for the World’s Toughest Mudder?
Time will tell with this question.  We put up good times on both days.  We are also developing some strategies for Mid-Atlantic to cut additional time from our run.  Once we qualify you will be the first to know!

We are 45 days away from the next Mudder.  We learned a lot of lessons about ourselves and our team that we will share in the weeks leading up to Mid-Atlantic.