So Cushy

There have been two moments in my life where I've been thunderstruck by just how increadibly cushy and easy my life is. The first was when I watched Schindler's List in the theater. I vividly remember watching the horror of babies being torn from their mothers, of children hiding in the bottom of an outhouse in the slimey filth of human waste, of men being shot for no reason and then looking around the theater and thinking, "We're all going home to so much comfort - we're SO fortunate and SO INCREADIBLY ungrateful!". My second moment just happened as I was reading the paper in the lunchroom at work (yes, I shouldn't be blogging at work but I'm eating my lunch and taking a break). It wasn't so emotionally charged as the first but it still struck me hard. I was reading a story about a race called Primal Quest that takes place in Utah. Its a 10-day endurance test over 416 miles in the Moab dessert of Utah. The two-person teams race almost non-stop and have to ride horse, run, bike, kayak, mountaineer, climb ropes and rapel and just about any other adventure-type thing you can think of. The best teams sleep, at most 2-3 hours a night, many times going a few days without any sleep.

Okay, in my day, I thought I was a pretty tough chick. I was a moutainbiker and did the 4-hour Chequamegon Fat Tire race which very few women do. I've done a sprint triathalon. And while I wasn't a top contender by any means, the fact that I was just out DOING it made me feel pretty good. But reading this article made my past attempts seem laughable and my current situation pitiful. At this point in my life, I make excuses not to go on a 3 mile run when the weather is above 85 degrees - heck in any weather. I can always find an excuse not to exert myself. And on the flip side, there's these maniacs out there going non-stop through the dessert for 10 days!! Insane! I need to get off my butt and move. I'll make these maniacs my inspiration! I'm gonna stop excusing my tired, flabby, unmoveable self. I'm gonna get off my couch and MOVE.....after I finish watching Primal Quest on TV. :)