If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.”- Joseph Campbell
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| Photo by Loic Romer of Volcan Concepción, Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua |
I have plenty of them. Excuses not to even think about this race, that is.
I'm broke. No hablo Espanol. I have always thought that 50 km was way too far for anyone to run, let alone 70 km. I am injured. This is my off season. I am out of shape. There is no time. I hate the heat. I am afraid of sharks... and snakes... and spiders.... and scorpions. It is selfish. My passport needs to be renewed. I haven't been vaccinated against Typhoid... and Hepatitis... and malaria...
Oh yeah, and in 2013 I'll be 40.
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| Does anyone know how to ask if the water is safe to drink in Spanish?? No quiero venganza montezumas.
I am terrified of this race. There I said it.
On the flip side, there is one simple yet compelling reason to sign up for the Fugeo Y Agua survival run in February 2013: because it exists. This survival run is to be held on Isla de Ometepe, which is an inhabited jungle island on a volcano in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. I know little about the race course itself except that it will involve over 70 km and several ascents and descents of the Maderas Volcano, climbing, swimming lakes & jungle rivers, carrying all sorts of things, digging, running brutal terrain, throwing (maybe throwing up), memorizing and overall surviving as actual obstacles will not be revealed until race day, long after any opportunity to prepare has passed. |
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| Jungle section of the Fuego Y Agua run. |
Another aspect of this experience that makes it unique is the children's race the following day. The Calzado Kids Run is a yearly fun run co-directed with Natural Doctors International. Their vision with the Calzado Kids Run is to promote running, fitness, healthy eating and awareness of the island as an endangered environment that must be cared for. They will be collecting gently used and returned running shoes for all of the children participants of the event, which looks to be over 400 local kids from ages 6-16. Staying to help with this event is a high priority to give back to the island community and another reason this event is so appealing to me. Additionally, I get to hang out with some of the coolest people I know who share this same passion. How can I say no to that?
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| Photo courtesy of Fuego Y Agua |
So, this time I don't want to be comfortable. I want to experience it all. The excuses will have to wait for the next one. My bliss is calling me.
Looks like it is time to start doing burpees in a hot sauna...
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| Adventure is waiting... What are you waiting for? |
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