Family Strong

This weekend, the kids and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet the GORUCK team and some of the other challenge takers downtown at Mellow Johnny's (Lance Armstrong's bike shop).  We dropped Tracy and Amy off there for their Saturday night adventure - the first ever GORUCK Austin.  The GORUCK Challenge is not a race or an obstacle course.  It is a six to eight hour "challenge tour" of the location, incorporating sightseeing of things like the State Capitol, Sixth Street, the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, Lady Bird Lake, Zilker Park and the Barton Creek Greenbelt with enjoyable activities like running, log carrying, flutter kicks, pushups, and fireman carries, during rain and 45 degree temps.  Tracy and Amy's group covered about 18 miles, but their adventure was a little longer than it would have been because ten miles or so in, they came across a domestic assault and intervened.  Since they were off-duty, they had to hold the offender and wait for uniformed cops to arrive, which, considering it was Saturday night and downtown, took a while. The other participants got more than they bargained for - all that is the GORUCK plus an up close and personal example of Austin's finest in action! 

The kids and I went back to pick them up about 1 am.  Tracy knocked on the window and woke me up when the group came in around 2 am.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching the team "welcome" them, then turn them around and head them out to do another four miles.  From my perspective inside the warm, dry vancar - funny!  They finally finished up about 3:15 am.  After congratulating everyone and dropping one of the guys off at his hotel, we celebrated with breakfast at Kerbey Lane and then fell into bed about 6 am. 

I am so proud of Tracy and Amy!  Not only did they complete the challenge in the face of adversity, they also helped the entire group succeed.  It is a great thing for our kids to see that kind of camaraderie and dedication in action...and especially for them to have strong female role models.  Before the event, Bitty commented that Amy is pretty tough "for a girl".  After hearing about all the things she did - including helping to tackle the bad guy - he concedes that she is "just pretty tough".  :-)

I am inspired by hearing about their adventure, and I am motivated to embrace a lifestyle of "action, energy, and purpose"!