1. Because we and everyone we know still has power, I’m seeing this snow as a blessing in disguise as it will give me plenty of time to rest my leg. I worked on Monday, and I had no idea how much I walk – and even run – around the office. Over a year ago, we moved to a building with double the square footage which is great. Except for when I’m on the other side of the office and I hear someone say, “Where’s Laura?”
On Monday, I tried to hurry my shuffle but it only caused me to scream out in pain. Funnily enough, agonizing shrieks echoing the hallways are NOT what clients want to hear as they meet with their accountant about their tax returns. Go figure.
2. Of course, while walking the dogs I slipped on an icy patch and injured myself even worse. So blessings are wasted on me.
3. I saw this dismissal video from a Durham, NC school and it made me realize how old I am:
4. I realize I stopped my race reviews after the Tryon Half Marathon which was back in October. I ran five races after that one so I’m a bit behind – whoopsie.
The following one was the 8K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. You might look at this picture from the starting line, which I find rather hilarious, and think it’s the runners on the right who look as if they’re trying to break their spine while stretching that are the crazy ones. However, it was in the low 20s when this picture was taken (and felt even colder due to the wind) so I can assure you that it’s the half naked fellows who are the insane ones.
This was my first Turkey Trot and I about froze my giblets off. It was also the first time where there was going to be someone else I knew running. (I only know one local runner, and that is my trainer who is the one who got me into this crazy thing.) I was super excited, even though he runs 6 minute miles so I knew we would only be starting together. However, it was so packed I never saw him – either at the start or the finish line.
Later, when I talked to him I said, “What? You didn’t see me? I was dressed like a Turkey!” (Note: I was not dressed like a turkey.) He was silent for a moment and then said, “Are you serious? Because I passed a turkey…”
Thus, when the race’s website posted this picture of him about to pass someone dressed as a turkey I had to laugh:
This race was really fun. I ran at an aggressive pace for me, and near the end it got to me so I slowed down. Or, at least, I tried to slow down when a lady yelled at me, “Oh, no you don’t! I’m pacing with you! You’re keeping me going!” Thus, I picked up the pace and started running again. We ended up finishing together and I talked to her some after we were done. Her verbally nudging me meant a lot as I wanted so badly to ease up and not push through as hard as I was going. However, with her encouraging me, I was able to finish with a much faster pace than what my goal had been. Yay for other runners who are bossy!
5. For Valentine’s Day I asked Ben if he would do the Savage Race with me again in October (if he felt well.) He agreed and I’m pretty excited as I had a lot of fun last time. Ben was not so impressed, and had been dragging his feet about doing another one. Afterward, we received an e-mail from the race that read: “Here it is – your Savage Race Georgia 2013 Finisher Badge! So shove this badge in your friends’ digital faces to show them how much of a bad ass you really are.” Ben thought that was a titch overboard commenting, “It’s not like we took a boat tour through the Mekong Delta in 1968.”
I definitely get where he’s coming from as whenever I think about doing a Tough Mudder I come to the same conclusion as the author of this amusing article:
“That’s not to say that it isn’t extremely hard either. Tough Mudder is 12 miles, a good chunk of which is uphill and the obstacles are sometimes excruciating. From swimming underneath barrels in a lake of snowmelt to crawling through water in complete darkness while being shocked by hanging wires, it’s vicious.
But what separates it from, say, climbing a mountain or trekking across a desert is that it is not a test of ability or of the mental fortitude necessary to push your body through the agony of effort. It’s just three hours of horrible things happening to you for a few seconds at a time. In other words, it’s carefully orchestrated harassment. Each obstacle is about the pageantry first and in a distant second is your own ability to power through it because it’s about the story you tell later rather than the experience itself …
And that’s exactly why I felt like an idiot by the end. I went in with the confused notion that any experience that is awful was also good for me. Suffering is always supposed to have rewards in the end, and even if those rewards are sometimes vague, I can at least chalk it up to a rounding of character. But Tough Mudder offers a window dressing version of personal betterment without much behind it.
I don’t mean to insult anyone who loves the challenge of Tough Mudder because I will certainly admit that it kicked my ass. But it was painful like torture is painful.”
However, not all obstacle courses races are created equally. There are several various kinds and they all have different feels. I am pretty sure that participating in a Spartan race would get on my nerves because they’re so rule oriented. (Which sounds odd since I am a rule oriented person. However, I bristle when I feel as if I’m being needlessly policed.) The Warrior Dash and the local mud run around here seem too easy and as if the only purpose is to get muddy. I have absolutely no interest in doing a tough mudder, and not just because of this obstacle:
Although, no.
However, the Savage is a perfect fit for me. At almost 7 very hilly miles and 25 obstacles, it’s challenging. I finished tired but not wanting to die. (Note: I finish a half marathon wanting to die. Or at the very least wanting to kill someone.)
Yet, it doesn’t feel like torture and that I’m just doing it because I hate myself. (If I had to do several versions of the obstacle I pictured above that is how I would feel – as if I just didn’t like myself anymore. And no one likes me more than I do.) There were enough obstacles which were mentally challenging (the Colon Blow) that I felt as if it really pushed me beyond what I would generally be comfortable with, but not so many that it became extraneous. Or that were so unsettling that I just wanted to curl in a fetal position and cry.
In other words, I’m happy Ben is willing to do the Savage with me again.
6. A couple of funny Valentines I’ve seen around the web:
(Because I kept overhearing people talk about how they had to “choke” gels down, I thought they would taste terrible. Then, I had a Salted Caramel Gu. They are ah-mazing. And if you’re running when it’s colder outside they’re even better when they’re naturally chilled.)
Literary AND creepy! What a combination!
#3 is the best thing and makes me believe people, generally, are awesome.