My Varmint and My Captain were nicely warmed up and stretched out for their 5K race/obstacle course called Run Amuck today.  It was time to get into the starting line (read: Mob).

There were a LOT of runners.  That means a lot of feet in the mud.  Ever seen a muddy path after thousands of feet went through it?  I was starting to wonder if my crew should have duct taped their shoes to their feet like so many other runners had.

It was ridiculous how many people there were.  They had several heats for the race…and all of these numbskulls were looking forward to the dirt and the rope climbing and the tiger pits.  It was remarkable.  But I have to admit, for a moment or two I seriously wondered about my fellow Americans.

The starting horn sounded and they were off.  My Captain is below the second T in the Start sign, in the scaffolding.  My camera sucks.

The very start of the race went up a steep embankment.  My crew was still smiling at this part….but more importantly, look at their hands.  They were helping each other from the start.

When Varmint suggested this race, she had no idea the bonding she would be supporting.  And if you don’t think I got a little teary-eyed when I saw this, you’re crazy.

It made me wish for a moment that I had signed up to do it too.  Then I remembered that I am averse to pain, and thought the better of it.  So I watched my beloveds run out of sight, and promptly found a hot dog vendor.  Watching a race can be so draining.

More to come!

Today was the day!  My Captain and Varmint ran the 2012 Run Amuck Obstacle Course 5K!  It was fantastic.

The weather, not so much.

To keep her warm when she got wet, I put Varmint in my polypropylene shirt from kayaking, circa 1994. I couldn’t believe the shirt was still so effective.  Then again, it’s probably made of the same thing Twinkies are, so there you have it.

I’ll let the pictures tell the story for the most part, but I have to interject.

I can’t help myself.

It started off chilly.  The contestants were layered.  Mama Boe looked like an Eskimo, and no pictures of her survived editing.

My baby girl was a little bit anxious before the race.  When she wasn’t looking, I could see the stress on her face.

But she went through with it, and I love her so much for that.

Before the starting horn, they got down to their polypropylene and Under Armour.  They were so psyched!

The race was advertised as 5 Kilometers of rope / wall/ climbing courses, hills, swimming through lakes, crawling through drainage pipes, spider web of bungee cords, hanging tire course, balance beams,  and Bengal tiger pits.

But I’m a little skeptical about the tiger pits.  I mean, come on, tiger pits are so passe.  But I wasn’t worried for my crew because they were surrounded by crack athletes at the top of their game.  I knew they would be in good hands:

Or not.

So the pre-race stretching began:

And the pre-race shoelace tying began.  Many people wrapped their shoes in Duct Tape so the mud on the course wouldn’t suck their shoes off.  My Captain merely tied the shoes TIGHTLY and it worked as well.

But it wasn’t as cool, I have to say.

How did this picture get in here?  Oh yeah, I wanted to point out the light blue duct tape on that runner’s shoes.

Sure, that’s it.

More on the race to come!

My Captain is the quintessential pragmatist.  He is the king of efficiency.  He is always trying to find an easier way to get more accomplished.  He’s the guy that annoys the slackers in a group with his gun-ho-get-it-done personality.

Slackers hate guys like that.  It highlights the half-assed attitudes endemic to slackers.

If there is something that is done a certain way, and the reason it is still done that way is simply, “Because We’ve Always Done It That Way,” that isn’t good enough for My Captain.

If something works well-enough, but it could be better, he has to fix it.

If someone says, “Aw, it’s not my job,” it sends him into a frenzy.  He hates seeing a job poorly done.  And after he bickers with the person who does it poorly, he’ll more than likely just do it himself.

And he’ll do it in the most economical, efficient way possible.

He’s my super organized, incredibly logical, effectual-as-hell perfectionist.  I love that about him.

So when I see him coaching Varmint’s softball team’s pitchers, and practicing on their form with them, and I see him like this:

I know it’s not because he’s lazy.  No sirree.  Not MY Captain.

He’s just working Smarter, Not Harder.

That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.

Along with the Spelling Bee at Monocacy Elementary School last night, we were also entertained with a Science Fair.   HOOoooo-Doggy did we see the gamut of ideas…everything from one end of the science spectrum to the other.

We’re talking a range from Mom-and-Dad-Had-A-Serious-Hand-In-This,  to,  Are-You-Kidding-Me?-Simple.

There were way cool projects on Bio Fuel and Kinetic Energy, to homemade plastics (made with vinegar and milk…go figure…)

Some were extremely intricate like this one:

And some were simpler.  For instance, my personal favorite….MOLD.

I mean, come on, to be able to look at your lunch and see a potential science project, you’ve got one heck of an analytical mind (or a piss poor cook for a mommy).

But had you ever wondered how fast mold would grow depending on the food source?  Well, wonder no more…this little person has figured it out for you.

Bread:

Twinkie:

And what we can come away with here is the knowledge that Twinkies are better for you than bread because they won’t carry mold or other harmful bacterias.

At least, that’s what I came away with.