LOOK!
It is kind of sad because I am no longer signed up for any races...because I finished them all!
The Pocatello Simplot Race
Man it felt so good to finish. Really, it was tough and I couldn't wait for it to end. There were many groups participating. There was a kid 2.5K, a 5K and a 10K. The 10K course was just the 5K course twice. Meh, I was a little pissed at that. You want fresh scenery the whole time especially when you could have prepared a bit more, like me.
When I ran the first loop through, I felt awesome. I was going at at great pace and I was so full of energy. I was elated until I saw this looming my way:
I'm referring to the hill, not the car. Although I would probably lose heart if I saw a car rolling towards me on a hill, and probably a limb. No, what I saw was the biggest effin hill I have ever seen in my life. And it was on 5" grass. And the grass was wet. Did I mention it was huge?
I was determined to run the whole thing so I trudged up heart attack hill and then for the next 3.25 miles, my legs ran out of juice. I was still "running" but I was "running" at a pace that a one-legged camel, that also happens to be giving birth, could outrun. It was very disheartening but after about 1.5 miles, my legs and lungs finally recovered but it was still bad. Now, I KNEW that hill was coming at the end and it was the thing that was separating me from the finish line.
Nevertheless, I finished and survived. I had finished my 10K that I had set for myself at the beginning of summer. It was hard but it was worth it. At the beginning, I could barely run 1.5 miles before I would be exhausted. I look back and can't believe that I used to have 3 miles as my "long" runs. Now, I can double that and run 6 miles. I know because I've done it. More than once!
It really goes to show that anyone can do it and it's never too late. If I were you, I would be thinking, "Oh well, she was probably athletic in high school and just 'fell in a rut' so she already has a lot of muscle memory or whatever crap people say about that..." Not even! I was a choir nerd and did ZERO sports.
Then you're probably thinking, "Oh, well, she is probably the kind of person that was born to love working out. I always end up skipping days and lose my motivation so I don't think I could ever commit to that..." For reals, I had days where I would skip and eat crap like spahetti-oh's! For three weeks in the summer, I went running once or twice. THREE WEEKS, people!
Honestly, anyone can do it! This is my advice that I give to everyone who asks:
If you think you want to do a race, do it! You know when you get a crazy idea and then it consumes your life? You feel all pumped and excited about your idea that you don't even want to sleep? All you want to do is work on your goal?
Use that momentum and sign up for a race. Set a schedule, find a race and sign up. Worry about when you'll workout later. Worry about what clothes you'll wear to hide your bumps another time. While it's fresh in your mind and you feel so pumped, sign up for a race. Once you do, you'll work out a time when you can get away and run. It will all work out.
You'll feel great, look great, and (this is my main reason) you can beat the odds at being a stereotypical, fat American!
Okay, I'm putting my pom-poms away and now we can talk about the run race.
The Dirty Dash
This race was NUTS! Think of the show Wipeout but 100% in the mud. It was the most fun that I have had in a long time.
There were mud pits and snow machines. There were hay bales you had to climb over and walls your crawled under (to which you would be covered in mud afterwards. There was one point where we waded in waist-deep water for 1/2 a mile. Then there were tires to jump through and poles you had to climb over.
Speaking of that part of the race, that wasn't so great. There were 12" PVC pipes that you had to climb over and there were about 10 of them in a row. You really had to straddle those puppies to get over and each time, I cringed at thinking how much mud was going up my ladybits. Poor, poor ladybits...
Then afterwards, I literally had a pebble up my bum. You try running with 5lb mud shoes, soaking wet clothes, and a pebble up your bum. It's not fun!
Then, there was this mother-effing huge rope wall we had to climb. I'm a scaredy-cat and started curing like a sailor at the top. It didn't really help that guys would run up it like spiderman and shake the whole thing.
Towards the end, we were all so tired but had so much fun. I think this is going to be an annual thing. You should look for some in your area because honestly, you didn't really have to be that fit to go through the course. There were a ton of people all shapes there.
Oh also, bring $4 for a warm shower. The regular ones are freezing cold and you may or may not have to stand next to guys with see-through underwear on...
But other than what I listed, it was a blast. I highly recommend that you do one in your lifetime.
1 comment:
Gooooooo Jessica!
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