Warrior Dash, July 23rd, 2011, Afton Alps Ski hills

Me, before the race. 

Cannonball into mud pit during the race

Crawling under barbed wire

Mud in my teeth!

43:56.  Dang.  And I dressed for success, too.  This is a mild disappointment, but I feel that I made up for my 1:56 of slowness by my enthusiasm on the obstacles.  I had to walk some of the ski slopes, the steepness was out of hand and I was worried about my lower back on the downhills.  Back in the day, I would have stretched out my legs and glided down those hills, but these days I have to stutter/hop to control myself.  But I ran up and leaped on those ropes and walls and tires like a ninja. 

117^th in my age& gender category out of 636 .  18.4% finished faster than me. 

3618^th place overall for Saturday’s race out of over 10, 450 (+ some ‘bandits’ who finished, too).   34.6% finished faster than me. 

Excellent news:  Brenda Boatman, 42, took  2^nd place overall for women on Saturday with a time of 28:15, so there is hope for me in my 42^nd year to kick some serious ass. 

An 80-yr old woman, Kim Robel, finished on Saturday in 45:38.  If I only slow down by another minute and a half in the next 40 years, that would be effin awesome.

Finished, medal on, free beer in hand

Having never participated in Warrior Dash before, 42 minutes was a good guess.  I gave it everything I had, and it was crazy, wicked fun for a Saturday afternoon! 

Smokin' hot on the quads

Max and I took the 10th ride to the Long Meadow Bridge today in 94 deg F heat and humidity.  The ride down into the valley is oh-so pleasant, and the ride back up out of the valley is a thigh-burning, heart-a-pumping cardio bonanza!

The wetlands are an interesting ecosystem.  This is the full span of the Long Meadow Bridge from the Bloomington observation deck:

Today, July 17th, with Max, my 15 yr-old.  He took the trip on a crappy mountain bike -- what a rock star!

42 trips to the Long Meadow Bridge

Had to cancel the Boundary Waters trip.  Substituting 42 bike rides from my house to the old Cedar Avenue Bridge (Long Meadow Bridge) which is a challenging ride and a cool-ass bridge built in 1890. 

The route is not without it's quirky features, either.  The wetlands are flooded, closing the roads to traffic. 

 The Long Meadow Bridge is chained off and marked with "No Trespassing" signs, and the old road to the bridge is grown over entirely. 

All of this just makes me glad I'm wearing a helmet and have a fun destination.