Izzy the Love Bug

I've witnessed something so adorable a few times now and every time I've missed the opportunity to take a picture. (Though a mom out there did, but I didn't think to ask her to send me the photo.) The only way to capture these moments is through telling the story, so I'll blog it.

If any of you know Izzy, she's quite energetic and when she's wound up, watch your pant legs. (She'll try to pull you using the one thing my shorty dog can get ahold of - your pants. If you're wearing shorts, watch out! She'll go for those too!) But sometimes she can be a cuddly little dog. We experienced this at the rescue home where we got her.

I ran a 5k downtown with a friend a few weeks ago. Jason and Izzy waited for us, cheering us on at the end. Afterwards we were resting when I noticed a little girl stood near us watching Izzy. Izzy noticed her (or something she was eating) and started to walk towards her. We told the little girl and her mom that Izzy was friendly but might jump on her.

Izzy walked up to the little girl and then sat down next to her. The girl seemed apprehensive, but started to pet Izzy. I think Izzy understood this and slowly cozied up to her, and ended up leaning on her. It was the most precious thing! The mom took a couple of pictures before Izzy leaned too much and ended up on her back. Of course then she had exposed tummy but I don't think the little girl understood she was supposed to rub it. She ended up going back to her mom and Izzy came back to us.

She's done this a few times and each time we're just amazed at how precious she is. Our little ball of energy is also full of love.

Warrior Dash - After

If you missed the "Before" post,  you can find it here... http://jc-parsons.blogspot.com/2011/09/warrior-dash-before-and-after-and.html

So it's been over a week since the Warrior Dash and my knees are still scabby and there's still bruises all over my legs. But I'm feeling accomplished and amazed that I did it again. And yes, I'm already plotting on how I can do even better next time!

To sum it all up - I tried every obstacle this time! I didn't go over the wall, but I got about half way up. I think I might be able to do it next time if there was just some way I could practice it. My time was 1:32, which is horrible, but I got stuck on a couple of obstacles and next time should easily be able to shave 30 minutes off.

First obstacle I got stuck on were the dumpsters. I got in the first one, but couldn't get out! I ended up throwing my leg over the side and wow, do I have a bruise on the inside of my leg! There were two other dumpsters but I was in enough pain and just went around them. The other obstacle was what I call the spider crawl. This one was so frustrating to me, I'm still fuming that I got stuck. I ended up having to crawl like a crab backwards because my knees hurt so bad. I have a better strategy for next time. Basically - I started in the middle and I should have been at the side. (Hey, last time I didn't even try it, so it's progress that I tried and finished - even though it probably took me 10-15 minutes.)

Parking was horrible, it took almost two hours to get from the town of Carrollton to our parking location. Thankfully the Warrior Dash aren't picky about when you run. I wish I had friends running with me but I had a great time goofing around with the people I ran with. The trail was mostly mud and it felt like we were ice skating most of the time. There wasn't a lot of running this time even though there were a lot less hills than the previous one. (My legs didn't hurt nearly as much the few days afterwards.)

Btw, around 2pm we heard someone announce that of the 6,000 people who had run the course, over 4,000 had take more than an hour. I'm blaming the mud. And probably having too much fun. :)

Since pictures are worth 1,000 words, I thought I'd post some pictures I've found of the obstacles we went through. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)

I did this one!!

The dumpster I got stuck in.

The wall I didn't do (but I tried).

I did this one! You use a rope to go up the other side and then down the side you see here.

An easy obstacle!

This is the spider web one I got stuck on.

There were many other obstacles that I'm not finding photos of, but I guess that's part of the intrigue - not knowing what they'll throw at you next. Of course there was the fire to jump over the mud to crawl through at the end. (Photos of that are on my previous blog.) And after we finished we got to go down to the lake and wash off. Kinda missed the freezing cold fire hoses from the Logan dash.

When it's over I feel exhausted, ridiculous, and thinking I'm just too old to ever do this again. But then after a few days I start dreaming of doing it all again. What is wrong with me??? :)

Anyway, I'll end this with some photos Jason and I took of the excitement and craziness....

View from the parking area

Walkway to the craziness

Getting ready to start

The starting line

After I was done

After jumping in the lake

Lots of costumes!

Our awesome people-watching spot

Check out the guy belly-flopping into the mud

A team jumping over the flames

Mario & Luigi

At the very end where we got our medals

Warrior Dash - Before (and After and Before)

I was going to post my "before" feelings about this Warrior Dash and then next week post the "after." However, I'm just realizing that I never posted about the first Warrior Dash that I did on June 4th, so I'll start there. (If you remember, the kitchen remodel started just days after.)

First, what is the Warrior Dash? Here's the link: http://warriordash.com/ It's about 3 miles on trails with obstacles like going through tires, crawling over cars (or boats), climbing a wall, jumping fire, and crawling through mud under barbed wire. Sounds like fun, huh? :)

I'm in there somewhere

Before Warrior Dash 1 in Logan, Ohio - I had never run a 5k and the furthest I'd ever run was 2 miles. And here I was planning on running 3 miles with obstacles. I knew that a lot of people end up walking some of it and that if the obstacles are too much, you can go around them. (I was definitely NOT going to be able to climb the wall.) I was optimistic and incorrectly assumed that there wouldn't be that many hills.

Coming down the last hill towards the last 6 obstacles

I was running with Jason's coworker, Molly, and her fiance, Matt, and their friend, Sniper. (I think his name is John, but we call him Sniper.) They were all athletic types and were incredibly encouraging and helpful. However, after the first half mile uphill I told them to stop waiting for me and just go!

Sniper, Molly, Matt and me - before

After Warrior Dash 1 - My stomach hurt, my legs hurt, my shoulders hurt! I heard that the first part was over a mile uphill - seriously uphill! I tried running uphill but ended up having to walk when I couldn't breathe. I did run quite a bit of it though. My arms hurt from trying to pull myself up on the difference obstacles. At one point I fell in the creek and couldn't get up! So frustrating, but my legs were rubbery and I shoved so hard to push myself up that I hurt my shoulder. Ugh.

Going over the balance beams

I skipped almost half the obstacles, but I tried most of them. I didn't jump the fire because I didn't think my legs would hold up. I did crawl through the mud, which was like thick pudding, and found out the barbed wire doesn't have points. (Btw, there's people all over the trail making sure you're okay and encouraging you to skip an obstacle if they don't think you're up to it.)

"Can you believe this???"

When I crossed the finish line I got a medal, a banana, and a cup of water. The biggest thing I gained was a sense of accomplishment that compares to finishing your college degree. The adrenaline rush lasted for at least a week or two and I felt invincible! (And definitely not 38 years old and overweight.) It's addicting. The proof? I signed up to do it again three months later.

Molly and me with our medals & mud

I did it!!!

So here we are, two days until the next one.

Before Warrior Dash 2 - Carrollton, Ohio - I haven't trained anywhere near as much as I wanted to. I need to practice jumping over fire (well, maybe not fire), and climbing things. I did some training at a playground (with an 11 year old), but I should have done more. I have done two 5k's and I can easily run 3 miles now. I've been running hills to get my legs ready, so I hope the hills don't wipe me out this time.

Molly and me after we've been hosed off (literally)

I'm still a little worried about the obstacles. I probably still won't do the wall, but I definitely want to finish the rope ladder this time. And I want to jump the fire! (Those are always the best pictures and I don't have one yet!)

The rope ladder I hope to get over this time

I had a dream last night that I went through the Warrior Dash and I went through all the obstacles like a breeze. Of course I think I was in my 20's and 30 pounds lighter in my dream, but I did it. I woke up not freaking out about the obstacles. Hopefully that "not freaking out" thing stays with me for awhile.

Jason with the viking hat

And this time I'm running by myself. (Not that that's any different from last time.) On the facebook event page for this Dash I've found some other slow runners that also start at 10:30 am. I'm hoping I run into them and can get their help going through the obstacles.

I'm running out to Target tonight to find some running shorts. The ones I ran in last time got bogged down with mud. And some crazy socks. Just because. :)

Wish me luck and say a prayer I survive another one!

(Btw, I'm already planning on doing the 2012 Warrior Dash in Logan.)

Idiot on the Jesse Stewart Memorial Bridge (Greenup Dam)

Around 4pm yesterday we were driving along the Ohio River about to cross over to Kentucky. (This is normally where Jason breathes in deep and says "ah, Kentucky.") We turned to head over the river and there was a back-up. There was construction on the bridge, so it was down to one lane. As we waited behind several cars we saw a truck driving towards us. What was unusual about the truck was that the front end was severely bashed up with the hood up, blocking the windshield, and a cone underneath the front of the truck. I couldn't figure out how he could see! He was driving really slow with his head stuck out the window!

At first we thought he was just pulling off the bridge to get out of the way but then we realized, he was just driving off! He went down a country road like nothing had happened. Unbelievable.

We sat and waited about five minutes wondering what had happened when a long line of cars came through, following the truck. Finally it was our turn to cross the bridge. We saw where the cones had been scattered and were assuming that he went across the line of cones and hit the side of the bridge. But we could see any marks on the side of the bridge or any debris from the accident. There were several construction guys standing around and one was trying to straighten the cones and get them out of the way.

We then drove past the construction area and past the other cars waiting to go the other direction when we saw where the accident had happened. There was an older Jeep with the back end completely smashed in. Several people were standing around the Jeep with a guy holding something against the back of his head. There was debris from the collision everywhere and then skid marks after the accident. 

We think what happened was that the truck wasn't paying attention and was probably going too fast and couldn't stop in time when he saw the traffic stopped. He rear-ended the Jeep, pushing it about 100 yards into the opposite lane. Thankfully it seems there was no traffic there due to the one lane being closed. The truck then tried to speed off, but with a twisted front wheel and hood blocking his view. We're thinking the skid marks were from him accelerating after the accident and trying to manuever over the bridge caused him to pick up a cone along the way.

We headed down the river on the other side and saw several emergency vehicles heading towards the accident - about 15-20 minutes after it happened. This morning I tried to google the accident to find out what happened, but as expected, nothing showed up. I'm sure whomever did it was "caught" shortly after he got home. However, as Jason has experienced personally (when he was hit by a drunk driver), he probably didn't get arrested.