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Updating in reverse
Jun. 3rd, 2013 01:13 pmTennessee was amazing. And I have all kinds of things I want to say about it. But I also just did a mud/foam 5K with my BFF Dawn that I want to tell you about.
So let's talk about that first, shall we?
An overview:
5K Foam Fest is a 5K race (obviously) that was held out in Ottawa, IL this past Saturday. This event takes place in cities throughout the country, and involves running on a course paved with slippery, slimy mud, and also stopping along the way to take on various obstacles, some which get you dirty (lots of dirty, muck-filled pools) some that clean you off (bounce houses filled with foam bubbles, a 30-foot foam-filled slip n' slide, etc.). There are also obstacles that just test your physical abilities, like a giant cargo net that you have to climb up and over. Large tires forming a bridge. 8 foot climbing walls (I skipped that one after seeing one of the staff needing to tighten the bolts holding the wall upright, because it made me concerned that it wasn't stable enough to make my clumsy self feel secure).
Needless to say, it was a pretty major physical challenge. But a fun one. I think I enjoyed the Run For Your Lives course better, but I had a number of memorable experiences on this race that made it worth the price of admission. And worth all the bruises and scrapes that I developed from falling on the muddy paths a bunch of times.
Experiences like:
Getting to spend quality time with a lady who I love and don't get to see all that often.
Watching a girl who couldn't have been more than 10 years old crank out 18 or 19 pull-ups, during a challenge that was posed in the area near the starting line. She whipped her grown, male competitors like whoa!
Laughing at the girly girls who were all grossed out because they didn't anticipate exactly how much mud they'd encounter. And who swore we were running through cow manure, even though I don't think that's possible since it would pose a serious public health issue.
Losing one of my shoes. You wouldn't think this would be something I'd be happy about, and initially I wasn't, because it happened during the first mile of the run, but despite the challenges it ended up presenting, it actually worked to my benefit in several ways.
a. I got better traction on the mud in my bare foot.
b. People noticed my disadvantage, and praised me for continuing the race (including two really hot, fit guys). Which made me feel like a super badass!
c. It expanded my personal sense of what I'm capable of. Because I won't lie, there were a few times I felt like quitting, when I stepped on a pile of hard rocks, or when I encountered a super steep, slippery hill that seemed impossible for people without bare feet (I ultimately scooched up that obstacle on my ass, doing a sort of reverse crawl to get to the top). The main things that kept me going were the fear of the horrible shame and embarrassment I'd feel over tapping out, and my need to reach the first big slip n' slide, (I had never used one before, and my desire to try one was a big factor in me signing up in the first place). Not wanting to bail on Dawn also motivated me to tough things out!
The course ended with an inflatable waterslide that had a three-story drop, and another big slip n' slide. There was a guy with finisher medals waiting to receive us at the very end, and I can't even begin to describe how satisfying it was to feel the weight of my award dangling from my neck after the guy slipped the medal ribbon over my head. I wore it out in public for the rest of the day!
And now that this is done, I'm thinking about what I want for my next novelty run challenge. I don't see myself ever doing the really extreme courses, like Warrior Dash or the Tough Mudder. I just don't have the balance or the upper body strength for those. I am signed up for something called Run or Dye in Indianapolis at the end of this summer, which is a knockoff of the Color Run. After that I may just see if I can get a couple more normal 5Ks under my belt, since my speed and conditioning could stand to be improved.
So let's talk about that first, shall we?
An overview:
5K Foam Fest is a 5K race (obviously) that was held out in Ottawa, IL this past Saturday. This event takes place in cities throughout the country, and involves running on a course paved with slippery, slimy mud, and also stopping along the way to take on various obstacles, some which get you dirty (lots of dirty, muck-filled pools) some that clean you off (bounce houses filled with foam bubbles, a 30-foot foam-filled slip n' slide, etc.). There are also obstacles that just test your physical abilities, like a giant cargo net that you have to climb up and over. Large tires forming a bridge. 8 foot climbing walls (I skipped that one after seeing one of the staff needing to tighten the bolts holding the wall upright, because it made me concerned that it wasn't stable enough to make my clumsy self feel secure).
Needless to say, it was a pretty major physical challenge. But a fun one. I think I enjoyed the Run For Your Lives course better, but I had a number of memorable experiences on this race that made it worth the price of admission. And worth all the bruises and scrapes that I developed from falling on the muddy paths a bunch of times.
Experiences like:
Getting to spend quality time with a lady who I love and don't get to see all that often.
Watching a girl who couldn't have been more than 10 years old crank out 18 or 19 pull-ups, during a challenge that was posed in the area near the starting line. She whipped her grown, male competitors like whoa!
Laughing at the girly girls who were all grossed out because they didn't anticipate exactly how much mud they'd encounter. And who swore we were running through cow manure, even though I don't think that's possible since it would pose a serious public health issue.
Losing one of my shoes. You wouldn't think this would be something I'd be happy about, and initially I wasn't, because it happened during the first mile of the run, but despite the challenges it ended up presenting, it actually worked to my benefit in several ways.
a. I got better traction on the mud in my bare foot.
b. People noticed my disadvantage, and praised me for continuing the race (including two really hot, fit guys). Which made me feel like a super badass!
c. It expanded my personal sense of what I'm capable of. Because I won't lie, there were a few times I felt like quitting, when I stepped on a pile of hard rocks, or when I encountered a super steep, slippery hill that seemed impossible for people without bare feet (I ultimately scooched up that obstacle on my ass, doing a sort of reverse crawl to get to the top). The main things that kept me going were the fear of the horrible shame and embarrassment I'd feel over tapping out, and my need to reach the first big slip n' slide, (I had never used one before, and my desire to try one was a big factor in me signing up in the first place). Not wanting to bail on Dawn also motivated me to tough things out!
The course ended with an inflatable waterslide that had a three-story drop, and another big slip n' slide. There was a guy with finisher medals waiting to receive us at the very end, and I can't even begin to describe how satisfying it was to feel the weight of my award dangling from my neck after the guy slipped the medal ribbon over my head. I wore it out in public for the rest of the day!
And now that this is done, I'm thinking about what I want for my next novelty run challenge. I don't see myself ever doing the really extreme courses, like Warrior Dash or the Tough Mudder. I just don't have the balance or the upper body strength for those. I am signed up for something called Run or Dye in Indianapolis at the end of this summer, which is a knockoff of the Color Run. After that I may just see if I can get a couple more normal 5Ks under my belt, since my speed and conditioning could stand to be improved.
