I'm a Warrior

On a whim, I signed up to participate in the Warrior Dash. The Warrior Dash is a running competition with insane obstacles held in various cities all over the country. When I signed up it was 9:00am when my co-worker, Carly, asked me to join her for the Central Texas race. I was persuaded with the promise of free beer at the end of the race. It seemed like a good idea at the time and free beer (not including the $50 registration fee) was right up my alley. Later, I realized I was having LASIK two weeks earlier and doing an obstacle courses with possible mud and dirt run flying in my eyes seemed like less of a good idea.

Pre race War-Eeyores 

Not wanting to bail on my friend I purchased stylish motorcycle goggles to protect my eyes, decorated matching shirts with Carly, and made sure my other friends were too busy to watch me so as to limit me from any real embarrassment.

Originally the event was set to take place in Austin, but due to the popularity of the event it was moved out to Cedar Creek, which actually 30 minutes East of Austin. Never having participated in a Warrior Dash we really didn't know what to expect. Lets just say it was like a 5K meets boot camp meets the Renaissance festival.

We lined up and ran 3.2 miles with 10 obstacles; which quite obviously from the pictures included running through mud. We jumped over cars, ran through tires, climbed over haystacks and rope courses, leaped over fire, crawled through mud, among many other creative tests of strength and agility. Thirty or so minutes after we began we were fully drenched in mud and sweat. We were hosed down, given a fuzzy viking helmets and most importantly... a beer. We stuck around for a few more rounds and long enough to listen to some music and to climb the mountain of muddy tennis shoes!

The event lasted 2 days and races started every 30 minutes with hundreds of people in each heat. People were really quite creative with their attire; as the Warrior Dash is clearly not about winning but rather just to have a good time. The Warrior Dash takes place all over the US with ten locations in 2010 (two of which were in Texas because we obviously have numerous Warriors in Texas). Next year there are over 16 races, including one in Australia. I would do the Warrior Dash again, but it doesn't look like it will be near Austin in 2011. I'm not too worried though, other pointless and fun events coming through Austin all the time! :-)

http://www.warriordash.com/

Floatin' the River

It isn't summer in Central Texas until you have had at least one float on the River. Using the term floating can confuse outsiders who often think of white water rafting or kayaking down a river because that's what most rivers offer. While you could kayak down parts of the river you certainly won't find white water rapids... and that all seems like a lot of work. Floating down the river involves only 3 essential items: an inner tube, beer, and sunscreen. 

Just South of Austin on your way to San Antonio you can stop in San Marcos or New Braunfels and have your choice of tubing companies and Rivers to float. Transportation and a tube cost about $15 anywhere you go for a float ranging from an hour and a half to 5 hours. Of course, there is the added cost of renting an extra tube to hold your beer cooler, but that never seems to bother anyone. 

This time around we decided to stop in the small town of Martindale, just outside of San Marcos and off the San Marcos River in Don's Backyard. Off the beaten track and down a long dirt road TOOBING scrawled across a giant wooden sign signified we were in the right place. There were certainty no questions when Don was there to greet us at the gate. This picture doesn't do him justice, but if you ever go back I don't think much will change about the shirtless and leathery old man with yellow ruler suspenders named Don. 

As you can imagine this is a pretty high class location with all kinds of amenities with two total employees to collect money, have forms signed, drive school buses full of college students and beer. Not shockingly it took a while to get onto the river and not everyone in our group was asked to sign a waiver. 

After we finally got into the river, we took our group of 10 and two completely full beer coolers safely tied into their tubes and to us (of course) to journey down the river for the next 3 hours. The temperature was cool but perfect for a day in the sun. In fact, the temperature is always perfect on the San Marcos River, as it is fed by natural springs  from the Edwards Aquifer. The springs also ensure a constant movement down the river at a steady leisurely Sunday pace. Only occasionally does one risk injury from the "rapids" wrapping around rocks, but if you can't manage those you are probably just drunk. In some places the river is deep enough for you to jump in off a rope swing, while in other spots it is better to get up and walk through the rocky bottom to get you moving. No matter how I get there, which river I float down, or where I stop along the way there are always friends to make and a suntan to be had on a river trip. 

To truly understand Texan hospitality, our laid back lifestyle and to see the natural beauty of Texas I suggest taking a float down the river. If you find it difficult to relax and soak up the sun for 3 hours, I can guarantee someone will offer you beer and you will wonder what took you so long to get here. 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/dons-fish-camp-eskimo-tubes-martindale

http://www.sanmarcosriver.org/