On May 14th, 16 girls from Westchester Adventure Boot Camp drove out to the Meadowlands to compete in an obstacle course race called the Metro Dash. We had such a blast, from the drive out there - caravaning in four SUV's and getting lost in the parking lot. to the competition, where my team took 2nd place of female teams, to tailgating in the parking lot after the competition. A great opportunity for some female bonding and competition. Two of my favorite things!
This was my first time competing in something like this - a competition based mostly on strength. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I am "strong like bull". LOL! The sixteen girls were broken up into teams of four, and as long as you got through the obstacle, you were allowed to go back to help the rest of your team - this was useful for the monkey bars, for sure! If you weren't able to complete an obstacle, your punishment was 5 burpess. No burpees for me, however, I did have a couple of teammates (I won't name names....!!) who had to do them. Only two times though, which I think was pretty good. One at the 15 foot cargo net climb (she's afraid of heights), and another at the 24" box jumps.
The horn blew and we were off to climb up Moving Ladders. Once you got to the top and tapped the high bar, you climbed back down to grab a 20 pound medicine ball to sprint back and forth once with. You then dropped that ball and ran a short distance to climb over two consecutive 5 foot walls. After that we were on our elbow and knees for a Low Tunnel Crawl, then over to climb up and down a Cargo Net that was 15 feet high. On to Box Jumps we went, where you jumped up onto 12'", 18", 24", 18", 12" inch boxes consecutively. Next was the Tire Flip - flipping a tire that probably weighed about 75/80 pounds from one point to another. This one I got to do this one twice as I was helping a teammate who got there late because of those darn box jumps! We then had to make our way up and over an 8 foot wall, which had very little room for feet or hands; then on to what I would consider to be one of the hardest ones - the sled. First you had to pull it with a rope, probably about 20 feet or so, then you had to push it back to the beginning. The sled had a 45 pound plate on it, plus the sled itself, which had to weigh at least 75 pounds. Another on I was lucky enough to do twice. :) Then we made our way to the over/unders - I think this was the obstacle where most of the girls got their bruises. There were 2x4's that were 3 feet high that you had to go over, then under three times. I avoided the bruising by hoisting myself over those 2x4's instead of climbing them. More bruising to be had at the next obstacle, which was high hurdles - 3/3 1/2 feet high. Again, hoisting was my choice here. The next one was called a Hill Run...a man made wood hill that you had to run up, then down. Then you were off to the Balance Beam, which was similar to the "hill" in that it went up, then down. Obviously balancing on a beam made it more challenging. The most challenging obstacle for most, and the obstacle that was front and center for most spectators to watch you succeed or fail was the Monkey Bars. As long as one person from your team made it across, they could then go back and "carry" teammates across. Everyone did their best here, not giving up and going for it the maximun of two times before being assisted. We had four out of sixteen make it all the way across with no help (time to get these girls using heavier weights for their pulling exercises in boot camp, no?). We were then off to an obstacle they called the Log Climb, where we had to climb up and over a structure made of wood that was about 15 feet high. Then over to the Low Wall, where you had to get yourself over two 4 foot walls, and quickly make your way over to the Farmers Walk; carrying two kettlebells from one point to another. Next was Sand Bag Carry. I would say a 25/30 pound sand bag that you had to carry any way you could from one point to another. I chose to put it on my right shoulder and move as fast as I could. The next two obstacles were pretty easy, one was called Low Hurdles - going over three 3 foot high pieses of wood without touching them, then the Low Crawl, which is very similar to the Tunnel Crawl, where you crawl on your hands and knees. The difference here is that there were wires just above you that you couldn't touch while you were going through. That means you have to keep your butt down nice and low. They called the next one the Strongman - carrying two heavy objects back and forth. The first object was a tire, the second a sledge hammer. Over to the Wall Traverse, where you move your way across a wall that was 5 or so feet long that had pegs sticking out of it for your hands and feet. Then the Window Jump...climbing through a small square cut out of a piece of wood, basically. Another favorite of mine was the Rope Wall - using a rope, you had to pull yourself up and over a vertical wall that was 12 feet high. Then the Ramp Jump - kind of silly, just a slanted piec of wood to go up and over. The Black Hole, another Low Crawl, which was made very dark because it was covered with a big piece of tarp. Onto the Log Carry we went, where we had to each pick up heavy pieces of log that were attached to each other by a chain and carry it from one point to another. Finally, the Rope Swing. Grab onto the rope and swing yourself over a 3 foot wall, then run to the finish line.
Your teams time ended when the last person crossed the finish line. My team finished in 17:21, and took 2nd place for female teams. Such a blast!
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