Good morning, Readers!
I really like this piece by Roberto Gatto on deviantart.com. I really liked it. Click on the image for more by this awesome artist.
This weekend was great. Some of my kickboxing students and I participated in the Ottawa 5K Foam Fest run on Saturday.
It was a perfect day for running; clear and warm, without being ridiculously hot, and the atmosphere was absolutely great. There were four of us in our team; myself and three of my students, and we were stoked to be there. All of us were looking forward to getting silly and grubby.
The run itself was great. Despite my injured foot, and my lack of training (due to said injured foot), I was able to run, and I ran well. Normally, running is a slog, but for some reason that day, it was the best. Remember when you could run forever when you were a kid, and it felt good? Like breathing and feet and hands were all so perfectly in sync that it almost felt like you were flying? That was me on Saturday. It felt really, really good to run.
I think that trail running might be my running thing. Running on a treadmill, or on pavement in the city is dull as watching paint dry. But running through a forest on a trail is actually really great.
Also, the obstacles were so much fun, and I honestly wish there was a permanent obstacle course for public use somewhere in the Ottawa region.
As to how it compares to the other obstacle course races I've done, I much preferred this one. The focus here was on silly fun. You weren't timed. It didn't matter if it took you all day to finish the course. The point was to get out and have fun. And it was. The Spartan Race was a lot more... competitive. I felt judged while on the course for not being great at the obstacles. Which is fine, if that's what you're after. I'm not. I'm after a challenge, sure. But I'm also much more interested in having fun. The Badass Dash was one of those ones that was much more fun and less competitive, but between the two, I still much prefer the Foam Fest. The great company helped, I think.
Unfortunately, we lost one of our teammates after the fourth obstacle. She slipped in the mud, and broke her ankle. By the gods, she was a trooper, though; all smiles when we met her at the medical tent after the completion of the run (she didn't want us to accompany her back to medical from the site of injury). We were all hoping it was just a bad sprain. I got a message later that day that it was, in fact, a break.
I feel awful, because it happened on my watch. As team captain, I am responsible for my team members, and the injury on course is partly my fault. She's out for two months with a cast on, and then it'll be careful training to build up her strength around the injury again. I'm determined to be there for her whenever she needs it. It's the least I can do.
That's what I was up to this weekend.
Right, I have to get to work. My goal for writing this week is another ten thousand. Let's see if I can get my manuscript up to the 20% complete mark!
Ciao!
It was a perfect day for running; clear and warm, without being ridiculously hot, and the atmosphere was absolutely great. There were four of us in our team; myself and three of my students, and we were stoked to be there. All of us were looking forward to getting silly and grubby.
The run itself was great. Despite my injured foot, and my lack of training (due to said injured foot), I was able to run, and I ran well. Normally, running is a slog, but for some reason that day, it was the best. Remember when you could run forever when you were a kid, and it felt good? Like breathing and feet and hands were all so perfectly in sync that it almost felt like you were flying? That was me on Saturday. It felt really, really good to run.
I think that trail running might be my running thing. Running on a treadmill, or on pavement in the city is dull as watching paint dry. But running through a forest on a trail is actually really great.
Also, the obstacles were so much fun, and I honestly wish there was a permanent obstacle course for public use somewhere in the Ottawa region.
As to how it compares to the other obstacle course races I've done, I much preferred this one. The focus here was on silly fun. You weren't timed. It didn't matter if it took you all day to finish the course. The point was to get out and have fun. And it was. The Spartan Race was a lot more... competitive. I felt judged while on the course for not being great at the obstacles. Which is fine, if that's what you're after. I'm not. I'm after a challenge, sure. But I'm also much more interested in having fun. The Badass Dash was one of those ones that was much more fun and less competitive, but between the two, I still much prefer the Foam Fest. The great company helped, I think.
Unfortunately, we lost one of our teammates after the fourth obstacle. She slipped in the mud, and broke her ankle. By the gods, she was a trooper, though; all smiles when we met her at the medical tent after the completion of the run (she didn't want us to accompany her back to medical from the site of injury). We were all hoping it was just a bad sprain. I got a message later that day that it was, in fact, a break.
I feel awful, because it happened on my watch. As team captain, I am responsible for my team members, and the injury on course is partly my fault. She's out for two months with a cast on, and then it'll be careful training to build up her strength around the injury again. I'm determined to be there for her whenever she needs it. It's the least I can do.
That's what I was up to this weekend.
Right, I have to get to work. My goal for writing this week is another ten thousand. Let's see if I can get my manuscript up to the 20% complete mark!
Ciao!
RSS Feed