Tough Mudder

This week I signed up for Tough Mudder Squaw Valley, in September. It's a 10 mile endurance race, designed by British Special Forces that includes 18 obstacles such as swimming under barrels, running over logs, climbing walls, and running through fire. It claims to be the hardest one day endurance race on the planet.

I decided to register because a friend is on a team and I was able to join, and also because I wanted to have a big fitness goal this year. Here in Portland, marathons and half marathons are the thing to do. I've considered doing one, but there's a problem, I don't love running and the idea of doing it for 5 hours straight is just not that appealing to me. I'm pretty sure there is no way I'll be bored during Tough Mudder.

It's about 6 months until the race and I'm really looking forward to the training. It's great to have a big goal to be reaching toward. Here is a video to give you an idea of what the race is like.

See Jane Speak

When I was a girl, Jane Goodall came to my school to speak about her work with primates. I was 8 years old and it was the first time I had ever encountered a famous, distinguished person (other than a chance Blazer sighting in Portland). Generally, those guest speaker talks in school are often more for the parents who plan them than for the children, but this was a great exception.

I remember being captivated by Jane's stories, told in her beautiful speaking voice, with her London accent, which back then sounded not only sophisticated, but exotic too. She told us stories about her research in Tanzania, and about David Greybeard, the first chimpanzee she observed using tools and the importance of conserving the natural habitat of the animals.
This morning I watched her Ted Talk from 2007 on what separates us from the apes. It brought me back to that day all those years ago when I saw her speak for the first time. I was struck by how little she has changed and how engaging her quiet style is. I also found these pictures of her as a young woman and I love how chic she looks, whether standing in the jungle or having a chimp brush her hair. I wonder what it would have been like to be a young woman in the 1950's setting off for Tanzania to study with Louis Leakey. You can watch the Ted talk below: