The weather here on the Eastern Shore of VA has been nothing less than gorgeous for the past several weeks. One of my many excuses for my lack of blogging. The other excuses are 1) another mud run and 2) a road trip to the midwest. There are several other things that happened over the past month that I hope to get to eventually.
On May 17th I took part in another fun mud run called Dirty Girl. This event was located in Virginia Beach so there was no need for an overnighter (sigh). The event was a ton of fun! It wasn’t as challenging or as muddy as The Rugged Maniac, but my company was AWESOME and the venue was very energetic. It also helps to support some pretty awesome causes. For all of you ladies who would consider a fun mud run, but are unsure as to whether or not the obstacles might be too difficult, the Dirty Girl is for you. And here’s why:
- The obstacles are challenging, yes, but fun and doable for any and all fitness levels. If you can’t or don’t want to complete an obstacle for whatever reason (pain, fear of heights, etc.) you go around. You still compete and complete with everyone else!
- Just like every other mud run I’ve ever done, the camaraderie is amazing and encouraging! Everyone supports everyone! It’s like we’re ALL one big team (of girls in this particular venue).
- One of my friends had a collision at the first obstacle during this race. She hurt herself but managed to finish the course! Afterward, when the pain was not gone and maybe worsening slightly, her husband insisted she be checked out and took her to the emergency room before heading home. Turns out she fractured 5 ribs at that first obstacle!!! But she still finished the event. All I can say when I think about Patty is … WOW! She is one tough chica! And she just threw all of everyone else’s excuses OUT THE WINDOW!!!
- It really is FUN! There’s just something about finishing something like this that makes you want more! That feeling you get…accomplishment…is just so great! And mud is just fun!
The Rugged Maniac was, by far, muddier and more challenging. So, again, if you’re a beginner, Dirty Girl would be a great option for you! You’ll love it!
Memorial Day weekend we took a Road Trip to central Illinois to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of my in-laws. We had a great time. The weather was kind to us (mild rain during the drive out, but beautiful on the non-driving days), and visiting with family is always a treat. I even had the opportunity to visit with an old college buddy that I haven’t seen in over 18 years during our stay.
We left on Thursday morning, later than planned because Chris (the love of my life) has had some problems with his back/sciatic nerve/??? for the past month. He was having a pretty painful start that morning. We drove to Eastern Ohio that day (on a normal road trip to visit the family we’d make it to Columbus or Dayton, but this time we cut it short). Friday we finished the drive to central Illinois. The drive itself was highly uneventful (in the good way) both days. No major traffic delays and no other set backs.
People often ask, “why don’t you just fly?” After years of experience with flights, especially since 9/11, we find it much more peaceful and less stressful to drive this distance. If we fly, we’re still out a full 12 or more hours the day of travel. And that travel is often stressful or so-boring-it-becomes-maddening! Drive time is about 15-17 hours. Only a few more hours than if we were to fly. And we can stop if/when we want to. It really is much less stressful to drive 1,000 miles than to fly, in our experience. So we drive.
Since arriving back home after our trek, we have done nothing more than enjoy our home and the beautiful weather of the Eastern Shore in late spring and early summer. This year has started off cooler than has been usual, at least since we’ve moved here. Normally our entire garden would be in by now, but it still is not. Most of the tomato plants are in the ground, cucumber seeds and squash seeds have been planted, pepper plants are growing indoors, herbs are in the ground and have taken the place of lettuce in the lettuce cart, and there are still several other plants to be started. Our CSA just got rolling this week so we do have some fresh lettuce, kale, spinach and other greens to feed off of that is second only to our own harvest. Let the summer’s beautiful weather and garden bounty begin!
AnimalWhiz 