Yesterday my friend Ryan sent me this text:

He was on the verge of unfriending me in real life because I hadn’t yet seen Mad Max: Fury Road.

Well, last night I saw it and…holy crap.

First of all, it’s a gorgeous piece of art. It’s not for everyone, for sure, but I spent most of the time in the theater thinking, “How did they do that??” A solid story, interesting characters, amazing scenery and…freaking car chases. Except that doesn’t do justice to what actually happened for two hours. I texted my brother-in-law afterwards and said, “I wish I lived near a desert so I could drive recklessly through it!”

The reason Ryan wanted me to see it so badly, though, was because of Imperator Furiosa.

Oh, Furiosa.

We don’t know much about Furiosa, but we do know that she is strong, smart and compassionate. Her mission, unbeknownst to the evil Immortan Joe, is to transport his captive wives to freedom, which she believes will find them at The Green, the place she was born. The story follows this perilous journey, filled with carnage and careful character development.

What struck me, though, as I’m sure it did nearly every amputee who’s seen it, is exactly what my friend Ryan was hoping I’d notice:

Furiosa’s difference was not a plot point.

In fact, they never addressed her arm throughout the entirety of the movie.

Not once.

Not once while she was driving. Or fighting. Or jumping between vehicles. Or loading weapons. Or shooting said weapons.

And they could have.

We don’t know why she has one hand. We don’t know if she was born that way or if she lost it somehow. We don’t know how her steam punk prosthetic works or where she got it, though we know she doesn’t need it to kick someone’s ass.

All we know is that she has one hand and…it doesn’t matter.

I’ve actually read that she and George Miller actually do know the back story and, according to them, it’s amazing. So, maybe one day we’ll find out and that’ll be awesome.

But for now, I’m happy to watch a movie that incorporates characters with many differences and doesn’t use them as a device, but rather, allows the people with them to be just that…people.

More broadly, in Mad Max: Fury Road we see that difference doesn’t make a person good or bad. We see characters with differences who are evil and others who are heroes. And even others who just are. I could be off here, but I feel like that’s a rarity in the movies these days. I appreciate the efforts the filmmakers put forth to incorporate actors with differences and not make a big deal about it.

Some have complained that they cast Charlize Theron in the Furiosa role rather than an actual amputee. I understand the sentiment, but it doesn’t bother me. For one, they spent $150 million dollars on the movie, so it makes sense they’d want a well-known actress in the lead role. Second, she’s an amazing actress. My opinion is, whatever the arena, no amputee should expect or want to get the role/job/roster spot/etc. simply because they’re an amputee. While we should never be discounted because of our difference, I also think the best person for the job should get it. In this case, Theron got it and she deserves any award she gets for her performance.

Ultimately, if you can handle intense, violent action movies that feature limb-different heroines, Mad Max: Fury Road is for you.

Did you see the movie? What did you think?

Last night I ran my first 5k in over four years.

The lady in front of me was the focal point, thus the blurriness. Still like this shot.

It felt amazing and I surpassed my own expectations! My modest goal was simply to finish (I’m actually still in the midst of my Couch-to-5k training), but I was confident I could do so in under 45 minutes. I felt good pretty much the whole race and toward the end I thought to myself, “I think I can finish this thing under 40 if I push!” So…I pushed.

As I hit the home-stretch and heard the cheering and the announcer say, “Here comes Ryan…Hock!” Then I saw the big digital clock, which showed 39:56. I yelled “CRAP!” as I sprinted to the finish line, passing it at 40:01. Spent and doubled-over, I went to stop my RunKeeper app and noticed that it said 39:52! Oh, yeah! I had forgotten that we started in waves, so I actually finished earlier than that! 39:09 officially, nearly 6 minutes better than my goal!

Running to the finish line!

Back in February I wrote a post about trying to get healthy again and was doing ok, but got consistently disciplined at the beginning of April. In fact, since April 8th, I’m down 17 pounds.

How?

Well, the simple answer is that I’ve been eating much better, tracking what I eat every day, and working out regularly. I also received consistent encouragement from a group of online friends (shoutout to my #fitbyfirst peeps!) and IRL friends. Groundbreaking, right??

So, what made the difference this time?

I believe signing-up for this 5k played a huge role.

While I realize that ultimately I could choose to not run it and just be out $30, that’s not how it worked for me. I knew that if I wanted to run it and finish it, I’d have to eat well and train consistently.

And I did. Because running a 5k is really good for you.

First, running a 5k is doable for anybody. It’s 3.1 miles, so even if you just walked it, you could probably finish it in an hour. With a couple months of consistent training, you could run/walk it, no problem. In fact, I ran my first 5k back in 2009 and documented the whole journey here. It’s pretty hilarious.

Second, it gives you a goal to work toward. This was huge for me. It forced me to put my training sessions on the calendar and to go out and run, even when I didn’t feel like it. Each session got me closer to my goal – and continues to! And now that I have this one in the books, I’m excited to improve my time at the next race! I’m self-aware enough to know I’m not going to win the dang thing, but that’s not the point. My only competition at this point is with myself. I’m pushing myself to get a little better, a little faster every time out. I think the 5k is a perfect distance for this, especially for anybody who is working themselves back into shape.

To give some perspective, the bottom left was from December. The top left, from EASTER.

Third, running a race and super fun! Seriously, you guys. Race day is a blast. Actually, for me it starts the day before with packet pick-up. Getting that new race shirt and the other goodies! Then, just like my friend Anthony, I like to have “the perfect setup.” I love setting my gear out the night before, fresh and clean. Pinning my bib to my new race shirt and setting my music playlist for the run. Getting to the race grounds is always a little adventurous and it’s a blast to be with hundreds, even thousands of people all with the same goal…get to the finish line! And have as much fun as you can while doing it! Getting to the homestretch and running down the chute toward the finish line while people cheer for you…such a rush!

Crossing that finish line, the sense of accomplishment is such a rush.

But, it’s not the end. Like I told my brother-in-law, Steven, this 5k was a solid building block.

I can’t wait for the next one.

I’d love to hear why you love running 5k races or any races for that matter! What’s your favorite story?