I am two months and a few days from training camp. About a month and a half from there, I will be in China, starting the race! It has seemed like a long ways away, and it still does, but I know soon I will be trekking down to Georgia to meet my U Squad family in person for the first time. I know it is close, but I feel it still hasn't hit me yet that I am going, because I am yet to feel any bit of nervousness when thinking about it. Though I have a feeling that will come very soon.
As I sit here drinking a can of Dr. Wow (generic Dr. Pepper) and eating a blueberry bagel, I can't help but think of what training camp will be like. The World Race dangled a carrot in front of my face by posting a few photos of training camp on Facebook, so of course my mind wants to make some very premature guesses at what it will be like. Those few photos give me somewhat (albeit very limited) of a visualization of what it will be like, and my brain is taking that ball and running with it. I am trying to train my brain to ponder but not expect, but I myself love coming to conclusions, regardless of how premature they are. I think of it as learning a new sport…learn the basic rules, goals, and fundamentals of it, and the minor provisions come rather easy. But if you are simply taught minor things, such as special "plays" or "moves", or minor infractions, guessing the purpose and fundamentals of the game is rough. Right now for training camp it is the latter: I see a few photos, read a couple of blogs on it, and now my brain is left to fill in the big picture. It's no wonder we are told to leave our expectations and come to camp open and fresh. We all want to do that, no doubt. But it isn't always easy.
So here I sit, just a short while from a big stepping stone. I'm really just going with the flow, fundraising and buying equipment which I think (emphasis on think) I need. Just sort of living life as normal until my whole world changes drastically. Of course I think about The World Race almost all day everyday, which can sometimes make it hard to concentrate on things that need to go on here and now, such as work. Really the only time I am somehow able to shut off my thinking of The World Race is when I am working with my mink. I guess they just have the power to do that to a guy.
As an update, I have $5,402.68 in my account, almost two thousand more than the first deadline which hasn't even arrived yet. A HUGE thank you to all those who have supported me, especially my church! They have been so insteumental in making this happen, words cannot describe my appreciation for their support! 🙂
I also currently have my backpack, tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad purchased:
Osprey Aether 70 (70 liter) backpack
Eureka! Apex 2XT tent
Big Agnes Encampment sleeping bag (rated for 15 degrees F)
REI Sratus sleeping pad
