Work Hard, Play Hard, Remove Some Ticks.......Repeat

There you have my post-workout concoction.  Sometimes I mix in a little dish soap just for peace of mind. Thankfully, not all of it has to go on all parts. Biofreeze and Anti-Monkey Butt powder should never touch the same places.

The same cannot be said of the pre-workout concoction.  Sunscreen, poison oak repellent and 100% DEET often all go on the same body parts. The first day, I tested a small area, not entirely convinced that when combined, the three wouldn't create some sort of chemical reaction and explode on my skin. Thankfully, they did not. When I get my hands on some tick repellent, however, we may have a science experiment happening on my legs.

In the meantime, my personal tick removal team has been busy.

I've also passed the ultimate high speed driving test. I have proven that I can successfully remove a tick while driving on the interstate. Of course, there was a bit of searching in the car later, but in the end, the bastard was destroyed.

Midwesterners love to joke that the state bird of their particular state is the mosquito. I've decided that not only is the state bird of MN the mosquito, but the state animal is the tick, the state tree poison oak and the state flower some sort of plant described to me as itchweed.  I have no idea what itchweed is or what it looks like, but apparently I manage to run through it on every long run.

Of course, obviously life is good if all of this outdoorsy-ness is happening so I'll go ahead and count my blessings that I get to have enough adventures to need all these products. 

Work hard. Play hard. Remove some ticks. Eat some good food. Sleep hard. Repeat.