Almost everyone knows the famous line from the movie "300", uttered by Gerard Butler as he kicks a Persian messenger into the abyss. I had the chance to live it today. Or at least a short version of it, anyway. I ran the Spartan Sprint in Laurel, IN at Haspin Acres. While fun is one of the words I would use to describe it, I would also use: punishing, frustrating, Hell on Earth, intense, cold, wet, muddy, and grueling.
I honestly thought Indiana was flatter than what I experienced today. I have lived here my entire life and never would have thought there were that many hills that are that tall in Indiana. According to the staff of Spartan Race, the course was 4.7 miles long and had a total elevation change of 10,850 ft. with 25 obstacles interspersed. I felt every last one of those feet. Haspin Acres is a motocross, ATV, and SUV park. We were running up and down all those tracks all day long. Did I mention that there were also ponds on the property and we were in and out of those ponds as well.
Spartans are known for their inner toughness and their willingness fight and to face death if it is a glorious and honorable death. They have no quit, no surrender within them and will be stopped only by death or victory. As we loaded into the chute to begin our wave of the race, the emcee got us jacked up by reminding us of what defines a Spartan and implores us to ask ourselves several times during the race, "Who am I?" The answer is, "I am Spartan!" This race is designed to test our mettle, to grind us down to our core and force us to answer the question, "Who am I?" I can affirm, "I am Spartan!"
From the first obstacle just 2 feet from the start line to the last obstacle that was the finish line, we are tested and forced to dig deep into that primal, instinctive core to not only survive, but overcome. This is not to show our competitors, because they are going through the same thing. It is not to prove to the staff of Spartan Race. It is not to show the spectators. It is to show ourselves that we are hard enough and resilient enough to not accept defeat; to refuse to quit or give up. A Spartan finds no honor in quitting. There is no honor in looking at an obstacle and giving up. There is no honor in turning your back on another Spartan. The true honor is found in seeing that obstacle as a stepping stone to becoming a better person. It is rarely pretty or beautiful when moving over an obstacle or hurdle. In fact, if you were to watch me, or anyone else, traverse this course; you would find it is quite the opposite. It's ugly, dirty, and usually painful and bloody. But the reward...the reward is incalculable. The satisfaction of knowing one can not only survive, but conquer. The knowledge that when tested and beaten down, one can step up and persevere to push through. That is Spartan.
I found something on that course today. I found that physically, I can keep running longer than I thought I could and I can put up with a whole lot more physical abuse than I originally thought I could. I found that I will help others when in need. They are going over, under, and through obstacles as well and may need just as much help or maybe even more than me. I found that mentally, I can shut out the cold and the voices that tell me to quit. I can shut out the pain in my knees and ankles and keep digging. When faced with a vicissitude, I will not give up. I will not quit. I will not turn my back. I will overcome. I will conquer.
I am Spartan! Aroo! Aroo!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
A Great Vacay!
Well, we just got back from vacation to Mexico Beach, Florida about 8 hours ago. This was the first time our family had really ever taken a truly organized, fully fledged vacation. We started planning this with some of our friends back in October of 2011. At that time it seemed like it would never get here and we were planning for some ethereal experience. As the date got closer, we began buying supplies to use while we were in Florida. Food, beer, water, liquor, trash bags, plates, beer, etc. Did I mention beer? We brought 5 cases down with us as well as two bottles of booze and three bottles of wine. I wasn't sure they would have any down there!
We left Friday after work and started out for southern Indiana to drop off our dog Molly at my parents place. To say we started out the trip with some bad juju would be an understatement. We actually did okay until we hit I-465. We had a 15 slow down where a semi had hit another car and then getting by I-65 was a nightmare. It seemed like everyone and there great aunt Sally wanted to get onto I-65. We were just wanting to get to IN-37! Did I mention that around this time it decided to downpour on us and would not relent until say...Tennessee?!?! There was a storm cell that was very thin and oriented in a NE to SW fashion that basically followed us during our entire trip. (Very tedious and mind numbing.) We finally drop off the dog and get on our way south to Florida. One problem...FREAKING TORNADO SIRENS!!! We stopped for gas in Evansville and while the 'hood is rolling up all around us and I am feeling the need to regulate with the 9mm that I packed; the tornado sirens start going off! (I really did pack a 9mm and in case anyone is wondering...I'm a fairly good shot with it.) So...needless to say, we finish fueling quickly and get down the road before we are blown away by a crip or a tornado. Next stop, Nashville. We planned to stop off at a motel and sleep for a while. It was our halfway point and we used to stop off in Nashville when we traveled to/from Macon. Not so fast there genius.
My brilliant assessment would be to stop off somewhere after Nashville to avoid traffic in the morning. We'd be able to just wake up and hit I-65. We stopped at an exit. You know, I have never experienced the whole "no vacancy" thing til now. We stopped at no less than 6 motels, from the flea bags to the nice ones, no vacancy. WTF?!?! So we tried another exit 50 miles down the road; same story. Are you kidding me? Really, WTF?!?!? By this time, it is getting late enough in the night that we are at the proverbial bingo point. The point in which it really isn't worth it to even stop. (I mean who wants to pay for a full night in a motel room and really only get 2-3 hours use out of it?) I guess maybe someone interested in a room for other activities. So, we stop at a rest stop just inside the Alabama state line. To say that it was busy would be an understatement. There were cars everywhere! They were parking every place they could park and some places they were not allowed to. We slept in the car. Not advisable. I ended up just getting pissed off and just leaving around 3 am and just hitting the road.
The natives began getting restless around Birmingham and so we stopped at the IHOP there. It was here we had our first experience with the aroma that I had never really associated with the south. It was a sour, rotten, rancid smell. If one has ever been to Terre Haute; it smells similar. Not pleasant. Nonetheless, we resume the pilgrimage and guess what returns...more rain! It rained basically for the next 6 hours until we got to Mexico Beach. Once we arrived, we needed to wait for our condo to be cleaned and so we decided to patronize a local Mexican restaurant. I love that waiter! When taking our orders, he asked for my drink order. I replied, "I need a big margarita!" What I got was a margarita in a glass the size of a fish bowl. It looked like they had just scooped out the fish and poured it full of that sweet, sweet agave juice!
For the next week, the story is the same for each day: Wake up, put on swim trunks, prepare a cooler full of booze, walk my happy ass the 100 yards to the beach, sit and pickle myself, go to sleep. We actually did have such great fun with our friends. We are so lucky to call these people friends. It made for such a great week, but a short one. We had such fun watching the kids boogey board, skim board, dig in the sand, make sand penises, lurk the beach walkers, fish. My youngest actually got to help catch several fish and I got to see something I never thought I would. Several jellyfish washed up on the shore while we were sitting there. They were iradescent blue/purple, about 6 inches long with tentacles about 20 inches long. They had a sail on top of them. After doing some searching, I found that these were Portugese Man o' War! One of the kids in our group got stung, but it was relatively minor. I never thought I would see one of those. So that was cool.
If you're still reading, as expected, the week had to end and we traveled north once more. 14 and a half hours and 5 states later we reach Indiana. Through that drive, we sat on I-65 at a standstill over a 30 mile stretch of highway for an hour and half. Apparently, some genius in Alabama thought that Spring Break weekend/Easter was the best time to resurface one lane of a bridge. I also had the opportunity to stop off in Nashville and pick up some of Popcorn Sutton's White Whiskey. (He's a famous bootlegger made famous recently on a show called Moonshiners.) Also, over the course of this drive we saw one...ONE police officer. On our trip from Odon to Fort Wayne...we saw 8! WTF is up with that?
So, we are home. If felt odd to wake up and actually put on clothes for work instead of a swimsuit. But, it's good to be home. If you never leave, you never get the chance to realize how much you miss it. Thanks for the read if you made it this far.
We left Friday after work and started out for southern Indiana to drop off our dog Molly at my parents place. To say we started out the trip with some bad juju would be an understatement. We actually did okay until we hit I-465. We had a 15 slow down where a semi had hit another car and then getting by I-65 was a nightmare. It seemed like everyone and there great aunt Sally wanted to get onto I-65. We were just wanting to get to IN-37! Did I mention that around this time it decided to downpour on us and would not relent until say...Tennessee?!?! There was a storm cell that was very thin and oriented in a NE to SW fashion that basically followed us during our entire trip. (Very tedious and mind numbing.) We finally drop off the dog and get on our way south to Florida. One problem...FREAKING TORNADO SIRENS!!! We stopped for gas in Evansville and while the 'hood is rolling up all around us and I am feeling the need to regulate with the 9mm that I packed; the tornado sirens start going off! (I really did pack a 9mm and in case anyone is wondering...I'm a fairly good shot with it.) So...needless to say, we finish fueling quickly and get down the road before we are blown away by a crip or a tornado. Next stop, Nashville. We planned to stop off at a motel and sleep for a while. It was our halfway point and we used to stop off in Nashville when we traveled to/from Macon. Not so fast there genius.
My brilliant assessment would be to stop off somewhere after Nashville to avoid traffic in the morning. We'd be able to just wake up and hit I-65. We stopped at an exit. You know, I have never experienced the whole "no vacancy" thing til now. We stopped at no less than 6 motels, from the flea bags to the nice ones, no vacancy. WTF?!?! So we tried another exit 50 miles down the road; same story. Are you kidding me? Really, WTF?!?!? By this time, it is getting late enough in the night that we are at the proverbial bingo point. The point in which it really isn't worth it to even stop. (I mean who wants to pay for a full night in a motel room and really only get 2-3 hours use out of it?) I guess maybe someone interested in a room for other activities. So, we stop at a rest stop just inside the Alabama state line. To say that it was busy would be an understatement. There were cars everywhere! They were parking every place they could park and some places they were not allowed to. We slept in the car. Not advisable. I ended up just getting pissed off and just leaving around 3 am and just hitting the road.
The natives began getting restless around Birmingham and so we stopped at the IHOP there. It was here we had our first experience with the aroma that I had never really associated with the south. It was a sour, rotten, rancid smell. If one has ever been to Terre Haute; it smells similar. Not pleasant. Nonetheless, we resume the pilgrimage and guess what returns...more rain! It rained basically for the next 6 hours until we got to Mexico Beach. Once we arrived, we needed to wait for our condo to be cleaned and so we decided to patronize a local Mexican restaurant. I love that waiter! When taking our orders, he asked for my drink order. I replied, "I need a big margarita!" What I got was a margarita in a glass the size of a fish bowl. It looked like they had just scooped out the fish and poured it full of that sweet, sweet agave juice!
For the next week, the story is the same for each day: Wake up, put on swim trunks, prepare a cooler full of booze, walk my happy ass the 100 yards to the beach, sit and pickle myself, go to sleep. We actually did have such great fun with our friends. We are so lucky to call these people friends. It made for such a great week, but a short one. We had such fun watching the kids boogey board, skim board, dig in the sand, make sand penises, lurk the beach walkers, fish. My youngest actually got to help catch several fish and I got to see something I never thought I would. Several jellyfish washed up on the shore while we were sitting there. They were iradescent blue/purple, about 6 inches long with tentacles about 20 inches long. They had a sail on top of them. After doing some searching, I found that these were Portugese Man o' War! One of the kids in our group got stung, but it was relatively minor. I never thought I would see one of those. So that was cool.
If you're still reading, as expected, the week had to end and we traveled north once more. 14 and a half hours and 5 states later we reach Indiana. Through that drive, we sat on I-65 at a standstill over a 30 mile stretch of highway for an hour and half. Apparently, some genius in Alabama thought that Spring Break weekend/Easter was the best time to resurface one lane of a bridge. I also had the opportunity to stop off in Nashville and pick up some of Popcorn Sutton's White Whiskey. (He's a famous bootlegger made famous recently on a show called Moonshiners.) Also, over the course of this drive we saw one...ONE police officer. On our trip from Odon to Fort Wayne...we saw 8! WTF is up with that?
So, we are home. If felt odd to wake up and actually put on clothes for work instead of a swimsuit. But, it's good to be home. If you never leave, you never get the chance to realize how much you miss it. Thanks for the read if you made it this far.
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