Thursday, September 29, 2011

Beach Palooza Recap - Part 4

Bear with me - we're almost at the finish line.  But first, we got to play with giant beach balls!
That's Chuck heading in to the beach ball pit - you had to make your way through a bunch of elastic "ropes" first, though.  Sounds simple, right? 
Hah!  Woman down.  At least it was a slow descent to the ground - I got tangled up and  managed to hit the sand.  Holding onto the elastic the entire way down - hey, it really stretched!
 But look - immediately, this nice young man was offering me a hand up.  That was the cool thing about this race - strangers were helping each other all over the place.  Nice!
 Jeff paused from throwing beach balls at me long enough to take this picture - this was a fun obstacle and definitely felt very Beach Palooza-like!
Jeff and I exiting the ball pit.  I managed to stay on my feet at this end!

(The next pictures are lifted from the official photographer's site, and, as someone who worked for a photographer for four years, I feel the need to say that I did buy some of these pictures...I know they work hard at these events, and count on selling some shots to stay in business.  Of course I don't want to wait for the real pictures to come in the mail, so you're seeing the proofs.)

OK, here goes - this is what I was most excited about...FIRE!  We jumped FIRE!!  Twice!!!  It was scary and exciting and crazy and I'm so glad we did this!!!
 This fire looked to be at least 5 feet high as we approached it!  OK, maybe just in my mind.  But still - FIRE!
Jeff and I, catching air!  Although I think I actually went through the flames more than going over them.  Short legs, what can I say?
 This was an exhilarating feeling, to have jumped FIRE!  Twice!!
 
 Chuck was just to the left of Kelly (in the picture) - we all jumped at the same time.  I wish the photographer would have caught all four of us...next time(!) we'll have to be closer together.

Just one more obstacle left - the icy swim.  They weren't kidding!  I don't know how they managed to make the water so cold, but it was.  And it felt dang good.  Some people were wading through it, but the race officials were encouraging everyone to plunge in, so of course we did!
 Jeff and Chuck going for a nice swim...
 Check out the guy on the left - he was going all out!  Love the enthusiasm...wonder if he realized the "pool" was only two feet deep?
 Kelly and I getting ready to slither into the pool.  It was salt water.  Really, really salty water.  I think I was laughing as I dipped into the water and got a mouthful - blech!
Soaking wet never felt so good - this was the perfect obstacle to end the race!

After that, we headed to the finish line! 

This shot cracked me up, because the photographer caught OUR photographers doing their thing!  It's really great to have such supportive husbands who not only are willing to participate in the crazy adventures that Kelly and I sign up for, but also carry the camera and document our fun.  Thanks, Jeff and Chuck!
And the view from the other side...
Woohoo, finished!!!  We did this race in the leisurely time of 1:13 - yes, a 5K in an hour and 13 minutes.  Hey, we wanted to get our money's worth - why rush through it?  (that philosophy originated from the original slow runner, John Bingham)
Hot, sandy, wet - and extremely proud of ourselves!

15 comments:

  1. The pic, but mostly your recap, make me want to do something like this! Thank you for taking the time to write such detailed coverage. : )

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  2. Woohoo.....I need a rest!!!
    Looks like so much fun thanks for sharing.

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  3. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Thanks for taking us along on such a fun adventure! And yes, you have a great, supportive spouse -- who looks like he is enjoying it all as much as you are! :)

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  4. So much fun packed into one race! There are other adventure races out there but somehow I don't see them as fun as this one. The fact that you guys did it as a fun thing together made it even better I think!

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  5. It has been a pleasure Shelley reading this. What a lot of fun you guys had!

    Would you have thought a few years ago you and Jeff would be doing this as a couple?

    Great reports, loved it!

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  6. Wow, that looked like crazy fun! What an accomplishment. Congratulations!

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  7. This whole event looks like some seriously crazy good time fun!!

    I am really impressed that you jumped over fire. FIRE!! Wow.

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  8. That is awesome - although I thought there weren't going to be any butt shots?!

    So happy the hubbys enjoyed it too!

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  9. I love the firey photos. Plus I think I could do the ball thing (BIG BALLS, not little ones).
    Really looks like a fun event to try. Too bad I'll be knitting. ;-)

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  10. So fun to see! LOVE the pro photo that caught both your husbands snapping a shot--that is a classic of what the race was all about--all four of you having fun together.

    Honestly, you are braver than me. I think I would have been intimidated to do this. and jumping over fire??? Eeeeek!

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  11. read all four parts just now :) great stuff!!!!

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  12. So much fun! I'm jealous. If this is a yearly thing, maybe I better check it out next year!

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  13. Your smile was totally radiant in all those pictures!

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  14. and Im proud of YOU.

    Ive loved the posts, Shelley!

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  15. Maybe jumping through fire can be a substitute for shaving your legs?

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