EPISODE 2 - THE CHALLENGE

The real deal: Episode 2 : The Challenge Lorrie and I arrived at the second challenge location a couple of hours before the marchers. I quickly ran down a huge hill and further down a trail to this magnificent pool of water being fed by a huge water fall. It was amazing. For a guy from Florida waterfalls seem magical. Just the chill in the air and the frigid humidity being spewed from the mist of the waterfall was awesome. I was doubly excited since I missed the Cranberry Bog Challenge because Anthony and I were busy catching up from him being in the hospital. As I settled into my environment and learned the rules of the challenge, the walkers soon appeared on set. They were pretty amped up, I think from just the energy around the waterfall. I know they were wondering what they were about to be engaging in.

Before we knew it the cameras were rolling and we were explaining the rules. The marchers would be split into 4 teams (1 male and 1 female). The object would be to fill a huge container held by the men with 16 gallons of water. Some of the producers did the math and told me how heavy that was. You didn’t need a calculator to realize holding a glass aquarium with 16 gals of water was almost a super hero stunt. Even worse, the women were running up and down a steep stairway to the pool of the waterfall with a small pail attached to rope. They would throw the pail into the pool to fill it, then run with the pail of water up the stairs and dump it into the aquarium being held by the men. Of course the 16 gallon container would start off light and get heavier each time the ladies emptied more and more water into it. Wow, this was going to be very physical. 3 weeks ago no one could have even made it down the stairs once, never mind over and over until they have 16 gallons of water. It is going to take a lot of stamina for the men to stand with that huge glass container.

Because Will was in the hospital, Loralie didn’t get to compete due to not having a team mate. She was way more bummed than what we were able to show in the show. The four teams were competing for a fantastic soak in a Jacuzzi. This may not seem that significant to some, but imagine being freezing cold for 3 weeks and walking your butts off everyday. Believe me that prize was highly coveted. The sad part is, there were rumors since breakfast that regardless of the prize Wendy had decided to sandbag the competition. She was going to give just enough to get by. In her defense, her feet were killing her. She had inflammation of the plantar fascia and tightness and spasms in her calves. But we all did. Wendy’s strategy was to conserve her energy for the next walking day. And she was going to do that by not competing in the challenge. I totally understand her conservative strategy but I need everyone to give 100% in everything they do. This challenge is very physical but Lorrie and I would never do anything to exacerbate anyone’s injuries. These Challenges are supposed to be a fun alternative to walking, but when someone has a blah, I don’t care, attitude it kind of ruins it for everyone.

The underlying lesson and purpose behind this blog is for everyone reading to understand why it is important to work through the pain and uncomfortable feelings that our bodies have. At some point we have to take control over our emotions and our discomforts. Our pain and emotions should never dictate our actions. Pain is only an indication that we need to be aware that something is affecting us momentarily. Emotion is important to be aware of, but not to be slave to. Some mornings we woke up grumpy and sore, but that was just our bodies giving us an indication that something fantastic was happening on a physiological level. We were getting stronger and thinner. We could have let that grumpiness dictate our reactions to our fellow marchers or we could just recognize it as good changes manifesting itself in our changing bodies and celebrate it. Let me get to the point. Our circumstances don’t dictate our how we react. We need to act out of purpose in a positive manor regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in.

So this is where Wendy has found herself. In pain and ready to quit. Loralie was dying for a chance to run the stairs and never got a chance. And Wendy stayed with her conviction to do as little as possible to preserve her feet.

The other three teams had a fantastic time and even though only one team could win, everyone had a blast. That evening Matt and Jami Lyn won a wonderful evening in a hot tub and they quickly invited everyone to come soak with them. It was amazing to see everyone soaking wet in such a little hot tub. I laughed until I cried….