Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks to all who have donated to any causes for which we have raised awareness or written an article, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!  Thanks for following, subscribing, and reading!  Remember to think of a challenge and pledge and send it our way!

Living Social Toys for Toys for Tots

LivingSocial's deal in Washington D.C. (and I believe nationally) is $5 for a $10 donation to Toys for Tots.  You have 6 days to take advantage of this deal, and it is for a great cause.  This is like your 401(k) employer match - yes you have to sacrifice $5, but not taking advantage of it is like throwing away $5...FOR CHILDREN!!!

Please donate, and START SENDING US CHALLENGES!

Tom's Movember Everyday

What is Movember? It's men growing moustaches, posting pictures of their ridiculous new look, and awesome people (you) donating money to support the men in their efforts to raise money in the name of men's health.  For more specifics on the cause, check out Brandon's article on the charity.  His photos are also included there.  I stopped shaving on Sunday the 30th, so techinically day 1 was my 3rd day unshaven.  Check back daily for photo updates.  Here goes nothin:

Movember is in Full Swing

So the month has been upon us for five days, and Brandon has predictably failed to make a posting on our beloved month.  What is Movember?  It is a charity that is changing the face of men's health.  When Mo Bros show their grow, our cancer foe takes a blow.  OK, so I'm not a poet, but I am cultivating my facial hair from clean shaven to goatee to moustache for the sake of raising money to support prostate and testicular cancer research, as well as education and awareness for many men's health issues.  So why donate?

One in two men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime (so will one in three women,) and one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.  Experts estimate 240,890 cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2011 - 33,720 of these men will die.  Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in American males aged 15-34.  Experts estimate that 8,290 cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed in 2011 - 350 of these men will die.  Smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths.  One in five americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer.  Movember has compiled these and more facts and stats on men's health. 

Tough Mudder the Third

Not many pictures of these obstacles - they were not easily accessible to the spectators who started where the race did.  We'll see what we get towards the end though.

Obstacle 19 - Berlin Walls #2

These Berlin Walls were significantly taller than the first.  This was another obstacle at which a line formed - and for good reason.  Only the real athletes in the group could handle this obstacle without any help, and we saw quite a bit of teamwork in order to get over them.  To get over the walls, you had to either get boosted from underneath by one (or more) other mudders, or you got a running start, planted one foot into the 2x4 step that was horizontally attached to the wall, and jumped up to grab the top of the wall.  Then you had to be able to pull your whole body up from just your hands. This might have been my favorite obstacle of the day, and came as a nice break from the running.  Of course I went over with no help - I like a challenge.

Obstacle 20 - Mystery Obstacle 

The only way to describe this is as a dropslide.  We climbed up a wooden rigging to get to a platform on the top that had smoke from a smoke machine rising out of it.  We had no idea what we were walking into.  We were told to count to 10 starting when the person in front of you dropped in.  When we get to the top on the platform we see why.  It was a 10 foot straight drop that curved and spit you out forward.  Basically a slide that had a vertical drop built in.  Jamie was terrified of this becuase of the drop feeling. I admit I was nervous, but less due to the drop and more due to the scaffolding being built on uneven ground.  The left side was lower than the right, and I felt like I was going to fall into the wooden barrier on our left.  Alas, I didn't and both our fears were unfounded. 

Official Tough Mudder Video Recap

In case you have been reading my recap and thinking I am either exaggerating or that it doesn't seem that hard, this video does a pretty good job capturing some of the atmosphere and whole aura around Tough Mudder.  I'll have the Part 3 of the Tough Mudder recap posted a bit later tonight.  For now:

Tough Mudder Part Two

Obstacle 6 - Hold Your Wood
After a small downhill and then lateral mountain trot that included a sign warning us to sign on trail or we'd be devoured by velociraptors, we reached Hold your Wood. A huge pile of lumber of varying sizes lay in front of us. Team logs, individual size, and in between were all there. I almost convinced Jamie she could only handle carrying a piece of bark, but she stepped up and got one of the individual size logs. We then proceeded to walk up, do a 180, and walk back down what I think was the mountain's bunny hill. It wasn't easy, but at the same time, it provided my lungs a much needed rest.

We didn't snag a picture of him, but some animal had a team log across his back and shoulders and did the whole obstacle with a 3 person log.