Bonus Saturday: The Synthesis of Beer and Insanity

And you thought that just because nothing is scheduled for Saturday that you'd never hear from me on the weekend... as if you could get that lucky! Today's topic: Insanity.

This weekend, my husband is running in a 197 mile relay race from the top of a mountain down to the Oregon coast. They have 12 runners, two vans and run all night long. His first run was down the mountain at around 9pm for about 8 miles at a 5:10 pace. Then he sat in a van with five other sweaty guys for five hours while they dropped off runners and picked up the next one every few miles. Then he ran again at 3am through the woods for about 8 miles at a 5:40 pace. And on it goes until they pull into the coast in the afternoon. By the end of the race, they are all exhausted, smelly, dirty, sweaty, hungry, sleep deprived, dehydrated, and half of them are injured... and all of them are as happy as boys can be. Through the suffering comes the bonding, the victory and the exhilaration of surviving.

Every year before he runs, he says he thinks he might skip next year b/c it's really a nightmare. But every year he run. 18 years he's done it. Eighteen! For 18 years he's put himself through torture, knowing exactly what he's in for. Why does he do it? Because he can't say no. It's in his blood. It feeds his soul to be off running, suffering and laughing with his friends. Through the pain evolves a power and a zest for life.

The name of their team (dating back to the college years)? The Synthesis of Beer and Insanity.

Beer for the bonding. Insanity because it takes a certain level of insanity to be refreshed and invigorated by putting yourself through hell.

Kinda like writing. Perhaps we authors should rename ourselves the Synthesis of Chocolate and Insanity. Or Caffeine and Insanity. Or maybe, simply, Insanity. But like my husband when he finishes the race inspired, exhausted and barely able to wait until the next time, the tougher a book is to write or sell, the more fired up I am and the more exhilarated I feel when I get the victory, whether it's a sale, or a good review or simply being able to write The End.

How about the Synthesis of Words & Insanity? The possibilities are endless...

posted by Stephanie Rowe @ 1:17 PM