'Dirty' Diana...Eagle or Pig?

The other day [mind you - one day before the Dirty Dash Race] my mom was sharing with me a BYU Devotional Address about 'how you can tell a person's character by what they choose to do in their free time'. She proceeds to share an analogy between an Eagle and Pig. Both take good care and provide for their young, however once their responsibilities are done the Eagle soars in the heavens while the pig wallows in the mud. This past weekend I was both the PIG and Eagle. So what does that say about my character? I had a riot wallowing in the slime with my muddy buddies. It was a blast! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. After all the fun and games were over and multiple shampooings we spent a wonderful evening soaring in the heavens at the General Relief Society Broadcast. This weekend I plan on spending my free time watching General Conference. However, before all the soaring begins I want to Bask in my glory as a filthy slimy Pig...

The Dirty Dash was both hilarious and hard. I had more fun then I even imagined possible, especially on the obstacle course events. Yet the 10k trail run, up and down the mountain side was challenging. I ran with the best team and for the best cause: In hopes of giving Mandy a few hours of comic relief! My mission was accomplished when I witnessed Mandy bust'n her fancy softball moves: a head 1st, full body mud slide dive, just for the heck of it and come up beaming". Our team name was "T" Time in the Slime. In honor of Travis, I know he was ever so proud of our swine like behavior. We definitely will be doing it again next year.

[Kent*Diana*Mandy*Nicky*Jim]

Running in mud was quite the experience. From the get go, your shoes are caked in mud and you're slip'n and slid'n. At the very beginning you run through a huge muddy field, mud flinging everywhere, past the snow maker machine which gets you all wet, so all the dust from the trail sticks to you. At mile one you hurdle over multiple hay bails, or in my case - jump up on one foot and jump down. At mile two -you crawl through cement cylinder tunnels. Mile three- try out your fancy footwork through the tires with 5 pound weighted down muddy shoes. Mile four, pull yourself up, actually rely on teammates to help you up and over the wall, all the while trying not to loose your shoe or twist your ankle in the mud pit. My shoes got stuck multiple times. Mile five, cross a freezing irrigation ditch down to the reservoir, wade through very stinky marshlands. Avoid being dunked by teammates:) Mile six, proceed to run back up the mountain to the best event ever, the giant five man slip and slide. We linked arms for the final .2 miles, plunged into the mud pit and crawled/swam our way to a victorious finish. At which time there was no dignity left, just sheer inner childlike behavior shinning through. Perhaps I am off my rocker, but I found it very therapeutic and fun.