Sunday, November 20, 2011

Yoo 213 - Race Recap: Warrior Dash

I was just a joy and a half to be around yesterday, let me tell you.  If there was something to be complained about, it was being complained about.  Race registration fee?  Too high.  Parking fee at the race?  Are you serious??  Distance to the race?  Way too far.  Food at the race?  Not enough...and an additional fee!  Warrior Dash?  More like the Warrior Walk.  And on and on and on.  See face in picture below:


That about sums up my attitude.  Horrible!

I think it was just an off day in general.  I woke up Saturday morning kind of planning on skipping the whole thing because I wanted to go on a longer trail run and wouldn't have time to get to the early afternoon Warrior Dash start (priorities were with the long trail run with my 50k looming just 3 weeks away).  But, an odd thing happened on that trail run.

I.  Was.  Not.  There.

I just couldn't get into the run mentally.  I had no willpower.  Where normally I'm bounding up inclines and hustle-stepping down rockfalls and the half-hours are just breezing by, I was being reduced to walking and stumbling and "THAT was ONLY 5 minutes??".  And I just didn't seem to care.

Very uncharacteristic.  Ninety minutes in I looped back to the trail head and called it a day.  There was just enough time to get to the Warrior Dash so I pulled in the Katie and decided to just go with it.


The two hours in the car went a little something like this:  Some complaining.  "Hey I like this song."  More complaining.  Lets take a picture.  Complaining.  "Cows!"  Complaints.  "Airplanes!"  A few more complaints.  "I'm hungry."  And even more complaining.

Are we having fun yet??

Shoes before.


Shoes after:


And since we're on the topic of shoes...

As if I wasn't having the greatest of days ever, shortly after arriving, I unknowingly donated my FIRST MARATHON SHOES to Green Sneakers.  Yes, it was a good cause, and yes, those shoes had just been sitting in my closet untouched for years, but it was so abrupt and unceremonious!  I just tossed them in the pile, all happy to be rid of them and for a good cause at that!  And then a few steps later the old thinker kicked into gear and I realized just how much of an impact those shoes had had on me!  (It's not an unknown fact that I get attached to inanimate objects...hence why just about everything substantial that I own has a name...).

My poor shoes!  So many memories and miles and sweat and tears and blood went into those shoes!  They carried me through the streets of Rexburg and the country roads of Nebraska and then down that quad-ripping first half of the Top of Utah marathon and past mile 19 and almost giving up and some more tears and then I don't know how but finally to a victorious cross of the finish line.  They gave me the title of marathoner!

And I had just tossed them aside like old junk.


Cheesy, I know.  But, every time I walked past that pile, and saw my shoes lying there, there was this twinge of pain in my heart.  This loss.  I loved those shoes.

I hope someone else loves them just as much.

The Warrior Dash itself was fun.  Though, it was more of a walk than a dash.  Lots of people and the obstacles are a real hold-up.  But you get muddy and you get to slide down the mud and swim through it and climb ropes and walk over old cars (favorite!) and the like and that's fun.  Most of it is all hype though and there are TONS of people.  Not really the race for me but I can see how it's a draw.  Especially if you get a big group to do it together.


Believe it or not, I was one of the cleaner finishers...


 

Best part? Definitely not getting stung and having a bee bum hanging from my neck!

It was probably a tie between the most awkward shower ever (you can't see it but there's a single hose spraying everyone down...so we were all huddled up fighting for drips of water):


And the the most awkward wardrobe changing ever (it had to be done...and it wasn't going to happen in a port-a-potty):


Oh yeah!  And the Taco Cabana run.  Because it was 5 in the evening and I'd eaten about 2 things all day.  And their salsa is top shelf.


And since you're thinking it, no, that wasn't enough tacos.  I could have eaten more.  And you might not be thinking this but I'm going to say it anyways, cilantro is favorite.  Why were we not friends sooner??

Also, the muddy race shoes joined the Green Sneakers pile as well.  Because the First Marathon Shoes needed company.  And I wasn't motivated to actually wash these and return them to commission.  Figured they'd at least go out bruised and beaten with stories and friends.  Quite the retirement party, if you ask me.

And I'm really just saying that to console myself because I'm kind of missing that pair of shoes too...


I wasn't quite as complain-y on the way home.  But then again, I was fed and had this to enjoy: 


...and I was mostly passed out on Benadryl from the bee sting.

Have a great day :-)


1 comment:

Warrior Dash said...

Wow, mud running is really a fun game. That game if full of excitement and full of fun. Thank you for sharing your experience in joining this very challenging game.