Warriors!

The day of the Warrior Dash, Lizmonster has to admit she was a little nervous. She'd never run in a 3-mile race before, or tackled any serious obstacle course. And all the little things nagged at her: What if she cut herself on barbed wire? What if the muddy water was contaminated with harmful bacteria? What if she fell off climbing wall?

But at the home base of the event, watching other "warriors" eating entire turkey legs, drinking beer and showing off their costumes, Lizmonster immediately felt at ease. There were the Na'vi from Avatar, some guys in suits, and a few other interesting get-ups. And once the fire shot up at the starting line, Lizmonster completely abandoned thoughts of her concerns.

She and Jynx jumped over and through a stack of cars, ran through a forest, waded in muddy water, jumped over walls and under barbed wire and ran some more before arriving at a terrifying climbing wall. Lizmonster had to pull herself up with a rope while balancing on small footholds and then climb down vertically without a rope on the other side. Lizmonster was certain she would let go of the rope on the way up, and even more certain she would fall on the climb down. But Jynx got down first, and hearing him yell "Go, Liz!" assured her that she could do it without assistance and without falling. Feeling the ground under her feet was exhilarating.

She also enjoyed the parts in the water, which wasn't very cold. Thanks to the good nature of the event, she could only laugh when falling backwards over a fake log with a splash.

For Jynx, the hardest part was the mud. Had there not been a crowd of people trudging through it, Lizmonster feels like she could have bolted up the hills. The excitement of the obstacles and of not knowing what would come next kept her energized the whole time. She chose to wear nice shoes with support that can probably be washed, and that probably helped. But Jynx's shoes were much older and worn.

That proved to be the Achilles heel as they approached the finish. After leaping over fire, Jynx whispered, "Do you want to be carried to the finish?" and of course, Lizmonster said "Sure!" Without pausing in her final jog, she jumped on his back. They were about 10 feet from the finish line when they suddenly took a dive. Jynx heroically took most of the burden of the fall, with Lizmonster only slightly scraping her knee. The referee encouraged them to try again, and they gleefully crossed the finish line together, piggy-back style, moments later.

After a banana and water, they threw their belongings in the car and went to hose off. Showcasing the community-based nature of the event, another warrior who saw that they hadn't brought their wallets gave them $2 for the hoses. They then changed clothes in the car as discretely as they could.

On the way home, Lizmonster suggested going to Tallulah Falls State Park, which was off the same road. The gorge was even prettier than Lizmonster remembered from her 2009 visit. She and Jynx sat on a bench near the suspension bridge snacking on hummus and crackers and enjoying the soothing sensations of natural beauty. Afterwards, they took pictures with the bridge, and had a strenuous climb back up the steps to the top, perhaps more physically difficult than anything at the Warrior Dash itself, since they'd already had so much activity that day.

Dinner was at what shall be known henceforth as Classy Wendy's near Gainesville. Lizmonster ordered a new chicken club sandwich. A muzzak version of "Memories" from the musical "Cats" played in the background. Also, there was a Wi-Fi hotspot. She later learned that this is part of a trend to make fast-food chains more like hangouts, in the same vein as Starbucks.

They ended their perfect day with Lizmonster's colleague's housewarming party in North Druid Hills, where they played Guitar Hero until 12:30. They never did get through "Monkey Wrench," which was a hard song for all instruments involved, but Lizmonster did enjoy singing "More Than a Feeling."