My Warrior

When Ace turned 40 earlier this year, I think he felt he had something to prove to himself.  For some crazy reason he decided to sign up for the Warrior Dash with a small group of individuals from work.  Mind you, he's never even run a 5k race before and this is what he chooses to do.  He swore he was going to train and be a lean mean fighting machine and ready for this beast of a race which you can check out here!  Well...he trained a little and then I think prayer took over from there.

He was a bit nervous before the race, but check out that game face.  He wasn't concerned about time at all, but he was bound and determined to finish the darn thing and complete every obstacle no matter what.

The last two obstacles of the course were the fire jumping and barbed wire mud pit.  This is where the boys and I would wait and wait and wait for our rugged warrior to show up!  I tried to get Ace to go and check it out before he ran, but I think he decided it was better to just attack each one as it came and not psych himself out before he even started.  I don't know about you, but that looks like pretty tall fire to me!

The ING crew before the official start of the race.  They were all smiles here...that changes a bit as the race goes on.

The boys and I parked ourselves right in front of the start of the barbed wire mud pit which was the last obstacle before the finish line.  There was definitely a lot of entertainment for us while we were waiting for everyone to finish.  I absolutely LOVED the expression on these gals faces as they approached the mud pit.  

Brian was the first of the ING group to finish the race.  He was coming in strong leaping over the fire.  

Matt was still smiling right before he hit the mud pit.

 Angie was a rock star making hay through the mud pit.

Finally, Ace rounded the bend.  The boys were so excited and kept saying, "Here he comes!  He's doing it!"  He looked like Superman he might just make it as he completed the fire obstacle.

As soon as Ace jumped in the mud pit, he got stuck as he sunk into the mud up to his ankles.

He's starting to get his groove thing moving!

Working his way to the finish line, he looks strong ~ or at least like he'll make it!

Boupha rounded out the ING crew.  The poor thing got a leg cramp right when she hopped in the mud pit.  

Here's my warrior at the finish!  I'm so proud of him, even if he looks like he could keel over at any minute.  I give him a ton of credit for even attempting this crazy event.

At least he looks like he'll make it in this picture!  Apparently a little hydration will do that for you :)

Way to go Warrior Clayberg!