You Know You Want To!

So, this contagious thing is ringing truer and truer.  I was at Great America with my brother, sister in law and their kids this weekend – and while we were whizzing thru the line for the Demon I was chatting to my brother Nick about the excellent adventures.

Sidenote:  It is important to note, that as I’m speaking to him about the ½ tri on the slate for 2012 and the full marathon in 2013 – talking and walking – I totally turned my ankle and almost face planted on the sidewalk.  It takes a special skill my friends….

Well, as a result of my complete graceful behavior – and my apparent excitement about all these crazy adventures, Nick decided he wanted to do the mini-triathlon with us in August!    (It’s important to note he would have done the warrior dash with us, but he will be in Orlando with his family during that time.. Priorities, I tell you!).

So our posse is growing.. we have people lined up for our Hustle team next year…  and it’s just down and out fun!

So thank YOU Elise for sharing my crazy!!!  And the crazy is catchy…..  So if you see us, walk quickly the other way or I’m pretty sure you will be doing some crazy physical adventures with us in your near future!

Well, Shoot!

Guess we need to re-think our costumes!

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/5142068-419/police-naked-marathoner-arrested.html

CINCINNATI — Police say they arrested a man for running naked in a marathon race through downtown Cincinnati.

Thirty-five-year-old Brett Henderson of St. Paris in western Ohio faces charges of public indecency and obstructing official business. Police tell media outlets he refused to stop running during Sunday morning’s Flying Pig Marathon, so they halted him with a stun gun.

Henderson’s mother Lee said Monday that he had borrowed a pair of running shorts from his father, but they kept slipping down as he ran. She says he kept running without shorts because he was determined to complete the race he had trained for.

No attorney was listed for him. He was expected to appear in a Hamilton County court later Monday.

Warrior Dash Cross Training

There are a couple obstacles in the Warrior Dash that make me anxious: the tires and the cargo net. I just imagine myself falling on my face two tires into the obstacle. I must say I was very happy that the video Denise posted showed the camera man falling on the tires.

The cargo net is the other obstacle I am not sure about because I do not think I have ever climbed up a cargo net in my life. The fear of the unknown has been bothering me for a couple weeks now as I tried to figure out where I could find one so I could give it a try.

When I first signed up for the Dash Denise sent the following information from the Warrior Dash Web Site...

How do I train for Warrior Dash?

• Day one: run as far as you can. Go home.


• Day two: do the same thing.


• Day three: Find the dirtiest pond in your neighborhood and snorkel in it - in your slippers, without goggles.


• Day four: Practice your climbing and crawling skills at your local jungle gym. Ignore the small children and parental glares.


• Day five: Do not shower or shave for weeks in order to obtain a true Warrior look. Seriously though, your best bet is to do plenty of running leading up to the race.

Yesterday, I took Paige and Derek to a new park while Ty was at a birthday party. To my surprise there in the middle of this futuristic looking park was a Cargo net.

Picture an arch with a cargo net tied to the top of it. On the bottom right the net is tied to the ground on the side close to you, on the bottom left the net is tied to the ground on the opposite side of the arch.

I was so excited I handed my phone and keys to Paige as I contemplated climbing up and over the arch that supported it. Then I looked around, there were millions of small children that could follow my lead and potentially get hurt. The Mom overrode The Warrior and I took my phone back from Paige and texted Denise that I found a cargo net and wanted to climb it, but would come back on a rainy day.

As I sat there watching the other Moms and Dads passively "playing" with their kids, I decided that I was a Warrior Mom and would not wait for a rainy day! I handed my phone back to Paige and started climbing the net. To my relief climbing up the net was not hard, but going over to the other side was another story.

I got to the top quickly, and threw my leg over the top of the arch. Here is where it gets ugly...I did not think out my attack, and wound up with my butt at the top of the arch and my head falling down the arch in a wobbly downward dog position. Then as the adrenaline kicked in, I realized that the net I wanted to go over to was not the same distance as the one I climbed up, so I would have had to swing my leg and body really far to get to the other side.

I laughed nervously as I told Paige I was stuck at the top.

Then a Mom said to me, "Are you really stuck?"

I replied, "No, I am fine." as thoughts of Firemen with ladders coming to rescue me flashed in my head.

Then the Mom said, "You are brave."

As I maneuvered my way down, I told her I had to try it since I was going to have to do it in a couple of months.

The Mom then said, "Are you going into the Military?"

I laughed really hard and said, "No I am in a race called the Warrior Dash that has obstacles."

To which the other Mom replied, "Well, that sounds fun."

As we talked a little more, I looked around and realized that there were several Moms climbing on the playground equipment now which proves the adventurous spirit really is contagious.

For the record, I did not make it to the other side, but I am going back soon and will have a better plan of attack.

I was thinking...

...it is a really good thing Denise and I did not go to High School together because I am sure we would have gotten into a lot of trouble. I can see it now...


Denise: "I saw a movie with this totally hot dude called Jake Ryan, and his girl friend threw a huge party and some dudes got drunk and it looked totally awesome."
Me: "Fer shur, we should totally try drinking some beer?"
Denise: "Dude, I got us a keg!"
Me: "That's totally awesome! Let's see if we can finish the whole thing tonight!"


***

Me: "Like, I am totally going to fail my History final."
Denise: "Like, I know me too! I am totally freaking out?"
Me: "Dude! I saw this movie where these dudes travelled through time and met a bunch of other dudes. Then the dudes passed their history exams."
Denise: "Totally Awesome!"
Me: "Like, all we need is a time machine."
Denise: "Dude, I got us a time machine."
Me: "Excellent! Let's go!"

***

Denise: "Like, I could totally use a break from school."
Me: "Dude, I saw this movie where this dude tricked his Mom into thinking he was sick, and..."
Denise: "Oh my God! I saw that movie too. We could totally do that!"
Me: "As if...we don't have a car!"
Denise: "Dude, I got us a red Ferrari!"
Me: "Bitchin!"

It's All Her Fault!

Note - She Didn't Say No!

I mean, she didn't really say YES either... but she didn't say no..

I'm just saying..

Aaaa-CHOO!

I hate being sidelined by a cold.  I don’t DO sick.  I don’t have time to be Sick and I get really crabby when I get knocked out of the game by a cold. 

It’s Thursday.  I have done NOTHING this week as far as training besides sneeze, self medicate and work (on top of child rearing, etc).

Today is the first day I didn’t wake up feeling like I was run over by a semi.  I HATE being sidelined when I have so much on my plate in the immediate future.  (Hi, 5K NEXT Sunday!).  But I have to listen to my body and my body said REST.. who am I to argue?

Elise is sick too.  We share our crazy goals and apparently germs across the miles.   Having a cold and not working out while also having quick access to Easter candy is not a great combination.  (Note: my kids, who requested turkey jerky from the Easter Bunny – polished that off before they hit the chocolate…  Now I have bite size Reeses’ peanut butter cups within arms reach.. BAD BAD BAD!).

I was doing a little research… looking for some justification for me sitting out this week as my immune system was losing it’s battle of the germs and stumbled across this, from the American  College of Sports Medicine..

Rest or exercise when sick?

Most clinical authorities in the area of immunology recommend:

• If one has common cold symptoms (e.g., runny nose and sore throat without fever or general

body aches and pains), intensive exercise training may be safely resumed a few days after the

resolution of symptoms.

• Mild-to-moderate exercise (e.g., walking) when sick with the common cold does not appear to

be harmful. In two studies using nasal sprays of a rhinovirus leading to common cold symptoms,

subjects were able to engage in exercise during the course of the illness without any negative

effects on severity of symptoms or performance capability.

• With a symptom complex of fever, extreme tiredness, muscle aches, and swollen lymph glands, 2-4 weeks should probably be allowed before resumption of intensive training.

• In general, if the symptoms are from the neck up, moderate exercise is probably acceptable and, some researchers would even argue, beneficial, while bedrest and a gradual progression to normal training are recommended when the illness is systemic. If in doubt as to the type of infectious illness, individuals should consult a physician.

And this is why the internet SUCKS.

I had fever.  I had body aches.  I DO NOT HAVE 2-4 weeks to start intensive training again.  I was looking for justification – NOT – for excellent adventure crushing advice.  So, I am going to pick and choose what web-based medical advice I’m taking… and that’s the Dr. Denise  version that says tomorrow, if I wake up and it’s not raining, and I don’t need to grab a tissue before I’m vertical, and if my glands are no longer the size of a golf ball… I run.  I run hard.  I run through.  I run away!  J.