We’ve only arrived as far as we are right now. A single step forward infiltrates unfamiliar territory. These are the moments we signed up for. I strive soberly to cherish them.
Round 2 begins in amped confidence. Morale is high. We’ve yet to tap the reserves - a true fuel rightly dubbed ‘grit’. Coming soon? We are a little banged up but nothing worthy of resignation. With one foot in front of the other, our hope remains steadfast toward a successful finish. So far. So good. Halfway through now. Still going strong…
Interstates like these, there’s bound to be tolls. You can take that to the bank. And we do begin to feel it’s taking. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. Positive self-talk is more than a plus. It’s downright gold! Negative comments according to the task at hand may just be the proverbial ‘straw’ that breaks that poor camel. Hypnotize you, they will. Dupe you into believing it’s time to throw in the towel. Sometimes it is. Most often, we actually have so much left. Knowing when to know when doesn’t punch in free of charge. I’ll take some of that grit now.
I’ve failed to admit: There are penalties for certain unsuccessful/skipped obstacles. Six or seven rubber bracelets wrapped around our wrists are indicative of battles won. Lose an obstacle. Lose a bracelet. The only way to retrieve them is to complete an exercise at the end of said round. And one must retrieve them before beginning again. I find myself performing bear crawls for a span of approximately 80ft. No big deal. This is level one punishment. Thankfully, I never reach level 2.
As we enter the final leg of our second lap the stab at my knee steadily increases. I begin shifting the weight via different forms of running. Nick is currently suffering the struggle bus as well. We’ve reached the point where it feels as though one misstep will result in a serious cramp and or muscle pull - desecrating all hope for reaching our desired goal.
Round 2 is in the books (30K)! Though physically we are pretty beat up, our mental, and emotional abilities are still firing on several cylinders. Not to mention, and perhaps of greatest importance is the brotherhood between us. We’ve trained together for quite some time. We’ve suffered in scads and still manage to press through. We can depend on one another. Neither one of us is about to let the other fail unnecessarily. Only 15K to go. 20 to reach our goal. ‘Hustle’. Our now favorite word. Let’s do this!
Solid