*jumps up and down and squeals* (bet you didn’t know I do that when realllly excited?)
Well, I was following a link to a link to a link as I often do and stumbled across the annual nanowrimo page. I’ve pondered this one in the past and even gave it a go once (made it 6 days – which is 6 days better than I thought I was going to do). Imagine my giddiness when I noticed noblopomo!
So what is this fun little acronym you ask? The answer is, simply it stands for “not being up to writing a fricking novel in a month but still feeling like you accomplished something”…OR NAtional BLog POsting MOnth which you can check out here
So, since it’s only November 2nd and I technically posted a blog entry on November 1st (let’s hear it for time zone glitches in WordPress!) I have decided to give it a go this month!
Even though I could stop here because this absolutely counts as a blog entry, I will bestow upon the interwebland a short blog posting that I had actually been planning on doing anyways today 🙂
Yesterday I ran a little race. Mudd Sweat and Tears is a mud based obstacle course in the same fashion as Tough Mudder and the like (without the fancy electrical or flames). I ran one in July and really thought that was the pinnacle of me and my mud love. You can check out my recap of that here.
But no, I got back from that race and shared with my co-workers what a blast it had been and a group decision was made to do the November 1st one as a Team. That bonding group moment soon turned into months of hunting people down to get them to put their money (and bodies) where their collective mouths were. ;).
Sadly to say that due to circumstances beyond control (read: finances, unable to get time off, weather – apparently November chill and potential rain is NOT the draw I thought it would be! – and one team member in an aircast two weeks before the event…)our original Team of 10 was culled down to myself and two others. One, a Physiotherapist in my Clinic who is in excellent shape and just did a half marathon last weekend. The other, a quiet and unassuming accountant controller from head office whose love for spreadsheets is only second to his love for graphs and charts of all kinds. Note: I harboured an absolute belief that the accountant was a secret ninja and would kick both of our asses…kinda worried going in.
The day dawned overcast and chilly but with a promise of sunshine and no call for rain so I figured we had hit the jackpot. A freezing check in and milling about followed by fun and mud and bruise-inducing obstacles and voila, we were done!
So here’s my, slighty shorter than 10, list of things I learned from mud love, second time around.
1. I still hate being cold and wet; and I hate it even more in November than I do in July. No way to sugar coat that one. Nope. Cold, bad. Mud, not great. Both together, blech. The saving grace is that the fun IN the cold and mud outweighs the blech. All good in the end.
2. I really can’t get myself over an 8ft vertical wall without help. This is a whole blog entry on accepting help wrapped up into one point. When you need help and someone offers it, be grateful and accept. Simple. (and many thanks goes out to the anonymous guy in the pink shirt who let me use his leg and shoulder as a stepping point – much appreciated!)
3. Conquering your fears makes you feel awesome – and like Lara Croft in Tombraider (who I secretly want to be, well maybe not so secretly now…). Staring at a wall over cargo netting 20 feet high and knowing that you have to climb it, no matter how much you shake, shows you what you’re made of. Staring into the blackness of a 50ft tunnel under earth and knowing how scared of tight spaces and dark you are – and doing it anyways – shows you what you’re made of. Good to know when you have moments of doubt. You rock. Own it and believe it. Simple.
4. Even as the isolating introvert that I am, it’s fun to do things with people and to share the moments. This is a tough one for me but yesterday taught me that having someone I know to turn to laugh and high-five did make it more fun. Many thanks to my Teammates for showing me that (even with some possible blurring of lines between work and personal life – sorry about my hip in your face over that wall). Having my Teammate take my hand and run with me when I slowed – perfectly captures it.
5. When you live and train at sea level, it’s so much better when the race is essentially there too. Yay for in town courses!!
6. One final point; the human body has many nooks and crannies and muscles that we never even think about, never mind know anything about. And you can hurt in all of them. Ouch and ugh. But in a way that makes me smile.
Until the next time my maelstrom of controlled chaos signs up for another event, these lessons will sit with me.
whisky sweet 