Who's the Muddiest?



Muddy water still streaming down my legs



It's Me! It's Me! Those who know Joe and me well, will not be surprised to know that he walked away from the Warrior Dash looking as clean as he did when we started, while I was coated in mud from scalp to toe nails, ear canals to the nether regions. The WD lived up to our expectations - it was a great course with challenging obstacles that were not too difficult for those of us who work-out a lot.

The WD is advertised in this way: "Welcome to the world's largest running series. Warrior Dash lands in Wisconsin for the second time in 2012 where 12 obstacles from hell await you along this 3.31 mile course. Are you a Warrior?" Hell yeah!

Held on the grounds of the Milford Hills Hunt Club in Johnson Creek, the Warrior Dash began for us at 9:00a.m., the first of 13 heats. Heats are scheduled every 30 minutes with 500-600 warriors per heat. We were at the front of the pack of the first heat of the day - giving us an advantage on a course that wasn't overly slick and mucked up yet with mud. People of every walk of life were taking on the WD challenge - young, old, fit, fat, men, women, themed groups of runners (i.e.,wearing Eye of The Tiger shirts, or tutus, or t-shirts with a team name, kilts, chain mail ... I was passed by a guy in a grey tuxedo...), and people completed the race in as little time as 22 minutes, and in as slow of a time as 2 hours 54 minutes. 



Post-race Pic with the iconic WD helmet



Joe, my superstar, finished in 26:50 (AMAZING!!!) Out of 6506 warriors, he finished 46th, placing him in the top .7%! Do you understand that he was so good that he ranks higher than the top 1%? And listen to this, he accomplished this with about 3 hours of shoddy sleep. In his age group of 40-49 year old men, Joe placed 7th out of 639!

I finished in 47:08 (VERY RESPECTABLE!!!) Out of 6506 warriors, I finished 2,271, placing me in the top 1/3. In my age group of women 40-49 years old, I placed 112 out of 560, placing me in the top 20%, the highest placement percentage wise I've ever attained in a race. And the reason for this? I am strong. I am never going to be the speedy runner Joe is (thanks mom for the slow twitch fibered DNA), BUT I have a kick ass trainer who has developed my core and upper body strength, which allowed me to be a beast on the course when compared to other women.

The course was a hilly trail run, at times over mud, rocks, grass and flattened stalks of something other than corn. The first mile had no obstacles, just lots of heavy breathing people. From Mile 1 on, we'd encounter frequent challenges barring the path. The first barrier was easy, a series of 6 under/over's - first you crawl or roll under a board about 2ft. above the ground, and immediately hoist yourself over a wooden 3.5 ft. wall and repeat. Run to obstacle #2  - a quick climb up a slatted wooden board to a cargo net about 6 ft. up and parallel to the ground - spider yourself across that. Next, run to the Teetering Traverse, a series of 1ft. wide planks that go up (reaching a height of maybe 7ft), and down, up and down. This sounds easy, but when you get a little spooked about higher open spaces as I do, it took some yogic breathing to assure myself I would not topple off.

After the third obstacle, came an easy trench crawl through mud - belly first down a slope into a narrow trench with barbed wire overhead, crawl, knees crunching over small rocks hidden in the mud, until you reach the other side. Run a little bit, heading uphill towards the Great Warrior Wall - a  15ft. wooden wall with ropes hanging down - get yourself up and over, and then brace yourself for obstacle #6, a mud mountain. Run precipitously down a mud slope to get momentum to run right back up the Grinch-steep pile of dirt, and back down ... do so without face planting :)

I'm cruising through these obstacles, figuring out effective strategies for each, feeling strong and in control, and then the unexpected Capsized Catamaran challenge popped up. If you know me well, you know I can hardly swim and that I am not comfortable in water. We run into this huge muddy, murky pond. The water is waist high, which is okay, but nasty weeds are wrapping around my legs and the mud is threatening to suck my shoe off. I make it to the floating docks in the middle of the pond, hoist myself up, navigate the ever increasing heights of pilings on the unsteady, bobbing dock, get to the jump off point where you get back into the water to reach the other shore, jump in expecting waist high water, and down I go. You can't touch the bottom.The water is deep. The weight of my shoes and clothing make it harder for me to bounce back to the surface, I swallow a teeny bit of water, I feel wild eyed and panicked. I flip onto my back, begin backstroking, trying hard to catch my breath (but I feel as if I'm close to hyperventilation), and ask people around me to let me know when I can touch the bottom. I survive, but rather than running 100 yards to the next barrier, I collect myself with a walk and self-talk. 

#8 is easy peasy - I do better than most men and women. We have a series of muddy peaks and valleys. The valleys end in a watery mud pit before you grab a rope to climb up the wall of mud. Most people slid right back down, even while holding on to the ropes, but not me. My secret? #1) I'm strong (thanks to Aaron!) and #2) I thought to wear garden gloves. Run some more, crawl under barbed wire and wire netting for 100 meters or so, run up a very steep hill, climb both sides of a 20ft. tall cargo net, run some more and then come to a complete halt. Well, that's what I did, because that's when we reached the lines of fire you have to jump over. I'd been fearing the Warrior Roast for nearly a year - fire frightens me and I can't jump very high. I asked the course monitor what would happen if I just walked around this obstacle? She encouraged me to do it, and with the next batch of warriors, banking off their courage, I conquered my fears, and charged ahead to the finish line, cruising through the final course obstacle of crawling through 2ft. of muddy water under barbed wire.



Across the finish line, medal draped overhead, I see Joe on the sidelines ... looking all clean, dry and fresh ...



My work here is done...





Did he do the same race as me? How is he so clean?



Welcome to Basswoodia...

... the nascent replacement of flora where our mighty Basswood previously stood. What this took to complete:

• The visions and skills of an engineer (that be Joe) to design the layout, crunch the numbers with a bit of trig and geometry (this took some math know-how as we were building this into a hill with a 2ft. drop from the top of the plantings to the bottom), and order supplies from Menards
• Dogged determination to work through heat & humidity in the blazing sun weekend after weekend AFTER doing a long run
• Lots of sunblock, water and pretzels
• 40 hours of hauling, lifting, bending (ack, tight back!), digging, scooping, tamping, sorting and smoothing
• 99 Crestones (weighing in at 17 pounds each)
• 10 bags of paver base
• 2 bags of river stones
• 50+ yards of heavy duty 20 year weed fabric 
• 8 bags of mulch

Here's a photo progression of the project....

The felled Basswood - Early June



New plants in the earthen Basswood depression - Late June



"Basswoodia" project 1/3 of the way done - Mid-July



Basswoodia Completed! 8/11/12



The Mastermind and Key Executor



Social Media

One of the many problems we face with social media is that our mental filter shuts down and we say things in writing that we would not likely say to a person's face. Or we flippantly say things that we don't even mean for no good reason other than we're not thinking. This is what happened to my cousin Colleen, a kind person who would never intentionally offend others. Let this be a cautionary tale...

I have a friend from high school, Monique, with whom I'm FB friends. Monique was a well-liked track star in high school - a little thing, maybe 5'1", wiry and petite. Now she is a professional body builder. This is what she looks like (right). She recently changed her profile picture, in which we see her seated in a semi-profile in a blue dress and heels (picture will be at the bottom of this post). I commented on her picture, and as a result, even though Colleen is not friends with Monique, since it was FB activity I produced (and I am friends with Colleen), the picture showed up on her home page. Colleen didn't realize this was a real picture of a real woman, and not just any woman, but of a woman I have known for more than 20 years. Colleen assumed this was a random picture, and left an offensive comment (which you'll read in a moment). When I saw the comment I was mortified. I quickly sent Colleen a message about her mistake, and asked her to remove her post. Unfortunately for Colleen, she did not check her email or FB again for at least 16 hours, other people saw her nasty comment, and all hell broke loose. I'm embarrassed to even be connected to her, but social media is what it is - it gets messy. Here's the volley of comments starting with Colleen's.

 

Colleen: eeeewwwww someone stuck a man in a dress. I like my men without such lovely locks and heals. 

Marcus: If u r jealous because you can't dedicate the time & effort to be that strong & ripped that's OK. I'm jealous, too. I'm proud as well. BUT I AM NOT A HATER & U ms. collen groh (small case letters intentional for yr small mind) shouldn't come to another person's page to spew yr hate and jealousy.

      Monique: Thank you to everyone for the positive feedback. As for colleen...please you do not have to speak negative of me because your self esteem is so low. You are not a friend or a fan. I am actually flattered that you commented. You are probably a child molestor because you hv no pics of yourself so you use a pic of a baby to lure people. Lol...now I know that statement makes absolutely no sense just like yours didn't. However stay off my page with your negativitey. Keep that on your page where you have little to no followers. I love my life and I love my body. If you think I look like a man then I question what you are, look like and your men. Smh...have a blessed like but please stay off the pages of those of whom you are not even friends.a child molestor because you hv no pics of yourself so you use a pic of a baby to lure people. Lol...now I know that statement makes absolutely no sense just like yours didn't. However stay off my page with your negativitey. Keep that on your page where you have little to no followers. I love my life and I love my body. If you think I look like a man then I question what you are, look like and your men. Smh...have a blessed like but please stay off the pages of those of whom you are not even friends.  a child molestor because you hv no pics of yourself so you use a pic of a baby to lure people. Lol...now I know that statement makes absolutely no sense just like yours didn't. However stay off my page with your negativitey. Keep that on your page where you have little to no followers. I love my life and I love my body. If you think I look like a man then I question what you are, look like and your men. Smh...have a blessed like but please stay off the pages of those of whom you are not even friends.

The picture that sparked such uproar

o   Monique: ‎@Marcus...no need to defend me. Clearly like I said...colleen may hv low self esteem or may even be a man. Haters make the world go round. Heck, people have some nerves to surf the internet just to spread hatred. Clearly wasn't raised right.    

Colleen: no no Monique......HUGE misunderstanding on my part. This pic didn't come to my page with explanation. And I'm just a regular mother of 1.... 35.. and honestly no body shape whatsoever. Joys cousin actually. Very very very sorry. I really thought it was something else and I usually am not like that. I told joy I will now crawl in a hole. excuse me many times over. And I feel terrible that I have offended. You really should be proud of what you have accomplished. I am the ass. Many many many pardons.

Small Joys

We all get caught up in the grind of life, that feeling of being stuck on a treadmill, trapped inside the movie Groundhog's Day, bored, restless, seeking something more. That's when you have to make an effort to create and experience small joys on a daily basis. Enter Monkey John. Last month, Joe's niece and nephew came for a visit. John, 8 years old and a fan of monkeys, brought along a white stuffed animal monkey, and somehow left it under the guestroom bed. Several days after they'd left, Denali discovered the monkey, cautiously jabbing at it with his paw, until he pulled it all the way out - a gift for Uncle Joe (turns out John has a second monkey like this and told Joe to keep it.). Each day before Joe leaves the house (after me), he leaves Monkey John (MJ) in a new position - a simple and silly bright spot at the end of my day is coming home to see what stance MJ will be in. 

Over the years Joe and I have had other small runs of fun, hiding the same piece of junk mail or toilet paper tube in the other's belongings to be discovered at some later date. Always good for a laugh and a head shake.

Taking joy in the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, or the crickets on August nights, the rain tapping the roof, the rabbits nibbling on pre-dawn lawns, the redness of the cardinal, the scent of fresh flowers or cut grass are easy and obvious things to hold onto as small joys in an average day. 

Quick emails from family and friends can brighten a day when you're really slogging away at work, or feeling lonely at home. My favorites are "thinking of you" messages from Joe.

I also like to build joy into my day by reflecting on my progress towards goals. Reviewing my running feats, seeing how far I've come, documenting all the details of a run, bring me small joys, as does debriefing each run with Joe - what route we took, what we thought of the weather conditions, how hard or easy the run felt, how many other runners we saw, how our pace and heart rates fared ....

And after a week of 15-20 hours of exercise, I like to indulge in a treat, which may actually feel like a grand joy, rather than a small joy :) Some weeks it's homemade chocolate chip cookie dough, some weeks it's a chocolate shake (Joe makes the best shakes outta ice, cocoa powder, silken tofu, soy milk and sugar, topping my shake off with a Hershey's syrup smiley face - see another small joy just in that simple action)

I'd be remiss if I didn't count the pleasure of crawling under cool crisp sheets each night, grateful that I will soon get much needed rest, Sunday mornings when I can sleep until my body chooses to wake up, and always, always, always the joy of being with the boys...

August Adventures

Goodbye and good riddance to July. Uggggg. That HOT, HUMID month seemed endless. Finally, it’s August. For us, August is synonymous with backpacking, and we’ll take our mighty Mountainsmith backpacks – the Gryphon and Valkyre to Isle Royale soon enough, but not before we tangle with the Warrior Dash. August 18^th, we’ll be in the 9:00a.m. wave of beastly humans endeavoring to run a 3.31 mile course filled with 12 obstacles. The obstacles are printed, in order, in this picture. You can click on the picture to have an enlarged view. Which obstacles seem the most daunting to you? Most look bland and doable to me, but I confess that the Diesel Dome and Warrior Roast has my pulse racing a bit just at the mere consideration of doing them.