Sunday, April 17, 2011

"Fear is my enemy, pain is my friend" (Michael Forsythe in Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty)



A few months ago my husband started the "Couch to 5K" running program to begin training for the Warrior Dash. He started out running a minute and walking a minute for about 40 minutes total, by the time of the race yesterday, he was running a full 5K with very little trouble. The program seemed to work pretty well, and yesterday was the test. The 5K course consisted of about 10 obstacles including climbing a 10 ft wall, climbing and running over broken down cars, jumping fire, pushing and climbing over logs in a pond and, of course, going under ropes in a giant mud pit. What would be fun if you didn't get completely filthy in the process right?

At the end of the 3 point some odd miles, when all was said and done, there was a reward. After your hosing down with a fire hose to get most of the mud off, you not only had the euphoric feeling of knowing that you've succeeded, there were tangible winnings for finishing the course. No "warrior" race would be complete without a "warrior" hat, a t-shirt, and beer. In all honesty, the hat and shirt were nice, but I think the beer was the most appreciated by said "warriors".

Chad had fun, and I did too, although there wasn't much room for spectators. I would have liked to see him climbing, jumping and crawling through muck, but had to make do with the stories he had to tell. I really can't complain though, the weather was beautiful, the company was good, and I even got a bit of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep read. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

4 comments:

seana graham said...

Sound great, though frankly, I would much rather have been you than him in that scenario.

Thought you might like to know that we both got a mention over at Crime Always Pays, if you haven't seen it.

You might be interested to join in that Irish crime discussion he mentions. I think it might be a bridge too far for me, considering that Amazon is our archenemy, but you wouldn't have the same issues.

Glenna said...

Seana, I did enjoy myself. I'm actually considering giving the Warrior Dash a try if I can get in shape for it.

I will check out Declan's blog and the link. Thanks.

seana graham said...

Well, it sounds like a great way to ease into it. Don't know about all that mud, though.

Glenna said...

Yeah, I think the mud pit is the part I'd most like to avoid. I'm not real girly, but being covered in mud doesn't sound like fun.

As for Declan's discussion on Amazon, it came in handy with a nice find. Sam Millar's On The Brinks was mentioned as one being on Kindle. I would have never thought to look for it there. I've been curious about it for awhile.