Monday Motivators: Jessica B.

This one has been a long time coming. We all have those friends who always make you laugh, will always make you realize you don't suck, and will always dance like a fool with you - my friend Jessica is one of those people. She's the reason I've started Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society - and after my first run on Saturday, I can't thank her enough for getting me involved!

Jess and I met back in 2005 - we were both in sororities and I ended up hanging out with her sorority sisters a lot. They are good folks. Anyway, she's always been super active in all sort of activities and what not. I swear she started this TNT stuff because she had spare time or something and it just wasn't sitting well with her (Kidding, I have zero clue why she started Team in Training, but I'm super glad she did).

As evidenced by the picture to the left, we were recently both bridesmaids in our friend Leah's wedding. That's a pretty normal Jess face. Do you see why I love her so much?

Anyhoo, Jess is the reason I got involved in TNT - she chatted with me about the whole thing after she did her 1st half marathon with them and watching her update her FB on all of the training she has done and is doing has really just made me want to work harder. She's a mentor for Team in Training too and is pretty much all over it.

How's this for motivation? The other day, Jess went and drank a few beers and THEN went on her bike ride. I would never workout after drinking...but she's so much of a champ she did it. She's my hero.

I love my Be-Niggy-No. I can't thank her enough for getting me into TNT - after my first run, I can already tell I'm going to love it!  Even if she ditched me for San Francisco and is going to do the Metairie half marathon instead, I'll still be her friend, I guess.

Thanks for the motivation, help, and sanity phone calls. I love you, JB!

I AM A WARRIOR!

Fire Jumper!

I completed it! I did the Warrior Dash in Jackson, MS on April 21st and holy crap, it was so much fun. If you ever have the opportunity to do a Warrior Dash put on by Red Frog Events, you NEED to do it. I haven't had that much fun in a long time and I really felt like I had accomplished something!

I mean - seriously...I JUMPED OVER FIRE. The obstacles and the general muddiness of the whole experience made me feel like I was such a badass.

One of the greatest things about the Warrior Dash was running with my boss, Nicki. We are great friends, but of course, like every employee/employer situation, sometimes we get into it. Running this event with Nicki really made us work as a team and encourage each other. Nicki cheered me on when I had an issue with an obstacle (seriously, I had an issue with the "teetering traverse" which was just slanted planks - going down freaked me out) Nicki was right there, cheering me on and telling me that I'd survive if I just kept one foot in front of the other. When Nicki fell off of the "Vertical Limit" wall, I made her try again and grabbed her butt when she was almost to the top to help her up. When we both finished the hardest part of the course, "The Great Warrior Wall," we hugged each other. That was super difficult - BUT WE DID IT!

Me and Nicki

I can't give enough thanks to Cassie at Back To Her Roots. She made a post called "Tips for your warrior dash, mudathlon or mud run" that really gave us some great tips and I'm sure kept us from being completely uncomfortable all day. She also had some great ideas that others at the WD obviously didn't have, we looked so prepared and ready to enter battle! Cassie had some great tips, but, I wanted to add a few of my own and give a little bit more information for those of you who, like me before the race, don't have a flipping clue what you're getting into. 

Advice for your Warrior Dash/Muddy Run:

Clothing: Cassie mentions tight fitting clothing, swimwear, gloves and a second set of clothing and I couldn't agree more. Except for the gloves. It might be because my specific course didn't have many ropes, but they would have weighed me down a lot in the water and I probably would have ripped them off quickly. Also, the swimwear was a good idea, but Nicki wore a bikini bottom and ended up changing out of it anyway, so unless you want to stay in muddy underoos or are extremely modest (read: not even willing to wrap a towel around you and change your undies in a tent full of people of your same sex), then I don't see this as too important. 

Socks, yo.

The most important thing I can stress is TIGHT FITTING CLOTHING. I wore yoga type shorts that were a touch too small, they were falling off - yes, this means I was pulling them up - by the end. Wear something that's going to be tight or at the very least snug. My red tank top was a men's large and it was driving me crazy by the end because it kept getting stuck to the side. Wear snug things. You won't regret it. Trust me on this one, okay? I saw lots of hairy boy butt crack and it wasn't fun. 

I also recommend high socks - soccer style. I had so many cuts/scrapes and what nots on my legs in places that weren't covered by my socks or my shorts. To decrease your injuries, wear high socks. Plus, I mean, they look so festive. I also noticed that they helped my shoes not get as waterlogged. My socks didn't fall into my shoes and just collect water. High socks - definitely a good choice. 

Your second set of clothes - bring them in something that A) you're okay with getting muddy B) will keep the mud from getting on your clean clothes that are inside and C) will be comfortable enough to lug around with you after your race. The bag check will be muddy too, and lots of bags will end up on the ground. It would suck hardcore if your "clean clothes" ended up just as muddy as your race clothes. You'll still get mud on you after you race, so don't plan on looking "cute" afterwards. It's a mudfest. Enjoy it!

Shoe donation pile

Shoes: Just like Cassie says, you won't be bringing your running shoes back with you. I mean...you CAN, but I don't suggest it. Wear an old pair of kicks, we didn't have a whole lot of time to run anyway with all of the mud around. Warrior Dash supplies a shoe donation area where they collect muddy shoes, wash 'em up and donate them to the less fortunate. I suggest going that route. Make sure you bring flip flops or some other sandals that you don't care if you get super muddy and are easy to clean as your "change into after the run" pair.

Miscellaneous Things You'll be Happy You have:
I cannot thank Cassie from Back to Her Roots enough for this next suggestion - bring wet washcloths in a ziploc bag. Sure, we were sprayed off by a huge hose (SO COLD!) but hoses obviously can't rinse out the mud and gunk that gets all up in your clothes - specifically, your boobs. My boobs were extremely muddy, even after rinsing off and I don't know about you, but dirt rubbing up against those babies all day long wasn't going to work out well. Having those washcloths (I brought two, but I wish I had had more) was a lifesaver.

Bring a beach towel. One that you're comfortable with getting disgusting. I wish more people in the women's changing tent had thought of this one. I saw lots and lots and lots of T&A. And much of it was not cute. Not cute at all. Bringing a big beach towel that you can wrap around yourself well or your friend can hold up for you, will keep you from showing all of your muddy bits to the rest of the ladies in the tent. Trust me. When it's covered in mud, it doesn't really matter HOW toned you are, it ain't gonna be cute.

Toilet Paper. Okay, so gentlemen, you might not have to worry about this so much, but when I showed up at the run site at 10:30, there was no toilet paper left on site. None. Zilch. Nada. Become the most popular person ever and bring some TP with you - at least enough for you and your neighbor waiting in line for the porta potty. You'll thank me.

Cash/ID. You'll need both and the beer and food can get pretty pricey. I brought $30 with me and it lasted just enough to get me three beers and a hot dog with a bit of change left over.

Me and Trey! WARRIORS!

The most important thing to remember:
Have fun! This could potentially be something you'll never do again. Enjoy it. Realize how amazing it is that you're tackling obstacles and enjoy the camaraderie that comes along with helping others. You're going to get muddy. It's going to be a blast. 

A big thanks to my friend Trey! He's the one who told me about the Warrior Dash back in October and the one who made sure I got my butt signed up. Thank you, Trey! You're such a champ - keep up the good work! You're doing great things!