Tough Mudder - Missouri 2012

Chuck here...I'm absolutely horrible when it comes to blogging, so please accept my apology for not being so talkative.

This past weekend, though, ended an incredible journey for me...and I think it has sparked a new one as well.  On Sunday, I participated in and completed a Tough Mudder.  This was located in my home town of Poplar Bluff, MO and was about ten minutes from my parent's home.  

I'm 44 years old, over six foot in height and relatively skinny (I do have a little belly).  I play and umpire softball in the summer and fall; and try to stay physically fit.  I do smoke and don't make any excuses for it...I don't like it, but it's been tough to quit.  Dawn will also tell you that I'm a video game junkie, Trekkie, and just an all around dorky redneck.

Three months ago, one of my best friends from high school (Steve West) sent me an email about Tough Mudder.  I had never heard of Tough Mudder before, but there was a video attached, so I watched it.  I felt something "burn" inside me...like a challenge had been given.  I thought, I could do this.  I sent Steve a note back saying it looked cool.  His response was an invitation for me to join a team forming up by one of our other high school buddies, Scott Kennedy.  I accepted about three seconds later!

Now, I don't know if this was a "mid-life" crisis for me to sign up for this, but I needed to have "something" in my life that wasn't stress-free.  I work full-time, also had a part time job umpiring, school for my Master's, and was doing what I could to be a good husband for Dawn and father for our children.  You may think that an 11 mile course with 22 obstacles designed by the British Special Forces is crazy for a man at my age and in my shape to do, but I wanted to test myself.

So, Dawn and I recommitted ourselves to working out.  She was and is my main support in everything I do.  Her goal is to lose weight in time for graduation and I needed to get in shape to  complete the course.  I made a decision to stop smoking, and did quite well for almost a week. I had a very stressful day on a Friday, though, and found myself back with a cigarette in my hand.  That was a major disappointment to me and I felt like a loser...but I wasn't going to let my addiction hold me back.

We worked out 2 to 4 days per week.  Our very first run, on our second day of training was a "light" jog up to the park and back.  The park is four blocks away...all uphill.  We didn't make it.  I knew we had a challenge ahead of us, but I didn't let that hold me back.  I decided then that I wouldn't do any outdoor jogging.  I didn't want to set myself up for any more let downs.  I chose to build all my endurance at the gym and on the elliptical and treadmill.

We renewed our membership to The Club Fitness Center here in Greenville.  We like Dave, Al, and everyone that works there, plus our  boys enjoyed working out there too.  We spent the next three months going in the morning.  Dawn would do her cardio and I did the elliptical for 20 to 30 minutes, plus did various exercises on the many weight machines provided.  On occasion, I would swim as well.

Our team set up a page on Facebook and we kept in regular contact about our workouts.  This also helped keep me motivated.  Two members of our team lost weight during the training.  Steve West lost 25 pounds and 9% of his BMI body fat.  Stacy Brickell lost almost 60 pounds during her training!!!  Scott (Brick) Brickell was our "comedy relief"...he would make comments like, "I sprained my finger working the remote control." or "I pulled my back getting out of the recliner today!".  

When I went to the Czech Republic, I was afraid I wouldn't do my workouts, but my good friend, Aubree Clark kept me going.  Aubree played softball, but didn't like to workout on a regular basis.  She got up at 6 am every morning with me and would either go work out in the hotel gym with me.  One day, we went to the National Museum in Prague and ran the steps there for 45 minutes.  She was a trooper and helped fill in for Dawn.

So...three months of training later, Dawn and I left for Poplar Bluff.  We actually left last Thursday.  My niece, Becca, was going to cheer at the final home football game of the season and I wanted to see it.  I also didn't want to be tired from driving before the Tough Mudder either.

Friday, October 12 was my last workout for the event.  I wanted to go for a run and I wanted Dawn to come with me.  I purposely told her we were going to do about 1 to 1.5 miles and that I wanted to run around Russell Lake.  I grew up fishing, riding my bike, and playing around that lake and in the woods and I wanted that final "inspiration" to be with me before the event.  

Dawn and I took off and walked for the first 100 yards to loosen up our legs a bit.  We started down the road and got to the trail that led to Russell Lake.  The rocks were very loose, so I chose to have us walk down the trail to be safe (don't need a sprained ankle two days before the Tough Mudder).  When we got to the bottom, we started on our jog.  I run faster than Dawn, so i would get ahead of her, jog in place until she caught up, then jog with her a bit.  We kept this pace up for the entire time of the run and encircled the lake.  We walked back up the trail with the loose rocks and jogged back home.  Overall, we did 3.5 miles in 45 minutes and I was quite happy.  I broke a sweat, but was not winded at all.  Dawn couldn't believe that I had us do that much running, but she was also quite happy and pleased with herself.  I was proud of her too.

Ok...the night before the Tough Mudder, our team "Adventure Freaks" sponsored by Brick's Off Road Park met for dinner at the Branding Iron for a team dinner.  We had a great time together, but the service and food sucked.  No other way to describe it.  It took almost two hours for us to get our food AFTER we sat down to eat...no water or silverware on the table...and the food was cold.  Oh well...we didn't come home to eat...we came for the Tough Mudder!

 Steve & Monica West

 Scott & Dawn Kennedy

 Chuck & Dawn Elliott

Scott & Stacy Brickell

Stacy's "tattoo"!!!

Sunday Morning - October 14, 2012 - at 6 am, our alarm clock goes off.  We got up and Dawn made me a special shake made from Nutralife products.  I drank it and got dressed.  Now, the temperature was suppose to be in the upper 70's for the event and it had rained the night before.  I wore our Brick's Off Road T-shirt, my camo pants, and tennis shoes.  I wanted to protect my legs from any rocks from sliding around and wanted to be able to carry some bandages, in case we someone needed it.


We take our time and have some fun...we even take some "pre-race" pictures.  

So we get to Brick's Off Road for the Tough Mudder.  Dawn has me drink another shake and we meet up with Steve and Scott in the parking lot.  It looks like everyone is preparing for war.  We're taping up our shoes, putting on our gloves, making sure we are "game-ready".  We head up to the house/office and Brick comes walking out of the bathroom freshly shaven.  He's ready to go.  Stacy comes downstairs...she's got her hair in pig-tails.  She's ready to go.  Team Adventure Freaks is ready to go.

We head to the starting line and wait.  We're in the 0920 wave and the 0900 wave is just starting to enter the starting area.  They looked restless, so I jumped on top the boulder next to the corral and just started yelling.  I was working the crowd and getting them pumped up.  They were cheering with me, chanting "Tough Mudder"...it was awesome!  Lance (another friend) was actually the emcee for the event and he came in right before the start time and took over.  He's a pro and did a GREAT job!!!  I felt good that I helped get everyone pumped up for what laid ahead.

Team Adventure Freaks

31 Days of Halloween

 I savor the flavors of fall; apples and cider, pumpkin donuts, cinnamon on everything, and roasted squash. The smells of fall entice us to be outside, relishing the last few warm days, as we once again feel that desire to jump in a pile of leaves with abandon. And, I love celebrating Halloween! Now, I know that sounds odd coming from a pastor, but I enjoy seeing children dressed up in fun costumes. They are able to imagine themselves as superheroes, princesses, and so much more. I know we see lots of scary costumes but the joys of seeing a child picking out that one costume, the one they feel defines them, it is a moment where they embrace the opportunity to fly in their imaginations, and no one tells them otherwise. 

So, to celebrate October I am doing 31 days of Halloween. I will be posting a craft or recipe to countdown the days to Halloween. This is going to be fun! 

Today's craft is bag toppers: I made these last year and passed them out to all the nieces, nephews, grand babies and children of friends. 

For the S'more tags, I downloaded the file and printed them off (you can find lots of free printable files). I made the Pumpkin Poo tag in Word. It is a 7 x 3.5 rectangle, then inserted a clip art picture and text.  Here are a couple samples:  

Pumpkin Poo

Halloween S'mores

 I put flavored marshmallows in the s'mores bag, wrapped the graham crackers in plastic (to keep them from getting soft), and added Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and mini Hershey bars. 

That is today's project, enjoy and catch me tomorrow for day 2 of "31 Days of Halloween".

Fall, again!

Looking back, it has been over a year since our last post. Time has gotten away with us. So, here is a quick catch up of the last year.

Chuck went to the Czech Republic in Sept 2012. It was part of his MBA program through the University. The cool part for him, was going to Brno, where he had been part of a mission team almost 10 years ago, and revisited the site they had worked on.

Sadly, in December 2012, Chuck's youngest brother, Kenny, was killed in an accident. This devastating news affected so many lives. There were over 300 people at his memorial, a true testament to the man he was. He left behind his wife and three, beautiful children. This has taken its toll on the entire family and Chuck is still struggling with the loss. These are the times we cling to God, and have faith.

In May 2013, we both graduated from college with our Master's degrees. Chuck received his MBA, and I received my MA in Teaching English as a Second Language. I received my ordination from the Wesleyan

Church, and am now an ordained minister. While I am not comfortable with preaching, I do feel called to counsel and care for those in need.

After graduation, Chuck ran his second Tough Mudder in Chicago. He and some friends from church, and other friends from around the country, formed a team and they had a blast.


July 2013, we welcomed a new granddaughter to our family. Miss Jolee was born to our youngest daughter, Jamie, her husband, Steve, and their four year old, Xander.




Andrew and Colin had a great opportunity to go to West Virginia on a mission trip at the end of July. This helped to broaden their perspectives on life. They stayed in a lower economic area and helped out with a summer VBS program, and construction. The team from our church went down with a crew around 15 along with adult volunteers. I believe this experience helped them to get in touch with the gifts God has given, and how to use them.

Well, that is the recap of the major events in the past year. Time to start anew and share some really cool things we have learned in the past year. That is all until next time. Blessings.