Here’s your daily dose of TMI. If you’re easily offended by the natural things that happen to a woman’s body, save your comments and scroll.
A few times we’ve gone onto our Instagram stories and ask if you had any burning questions about our experience on The Amazing Race. Overwhelmingly, you want to know when we eat and when we go to the bathroom. It wasn’t shocking because I had those very same questions before heading to the starting line.
As for eating, we packed protein bars but quickly ditched them all to lighten our packs. Pre-Covid we were given a stipend to cover the cost of food during transit. I mean, we weren’t ordering sushi, but it got us enough. Post-Covid, they really wanted to minimize our interaction with the public so meals were provided when we weren’t racing. I was so nervous on race days so I never ate on those mornings. I would stuff a piece of fruit in my bag and if I felt I needed something, I would snack in the backseat while trying to navigate Penn to our next destination. They took care of us and kept us fed, so I was a happy girl.
As for going to the bathroom, that was harder to navigate as a woman. While the men (including my husband) could hop off a trail and take care of business in the bushes, the women had to go deeper into the woods to achieve the full squat with privacy or wait to find a restroom. I tried to walk the line of dehydration so I wouldn’t have to pee a lot during the day. Ideal? No. But it was fine. Then I got a surprise during the last leg in Corsica. I started my period about a week early. We were running to the first task (to eat maggot cheese) and I got that “oh no” feeling.
We talked about it in our recap podcast. A “roadblock” on The Race is a challenge one team member must complete without the help of their partner. We had planned to alternate those tasks because you need to be balanced by the end of The Race (if you’re lucky to make it to the end). It was my turn to complete the challenge in this leg, but I really needed to find a bathroom. I was testing the limits of my black shorts, for sure. I looked at Penn and said, “Even if this involves tap dancing (I tapped for 15 years) you’re going to have to do it.”
Making It Work
Of course, I could have stopped, dug hygiene products out of my pack and found a bathroom. But those five minutes are critical when you are in a race. So while he was busy fixing a fishing net, I found a restroom and took care of things.
It’s another reason I’m in awe of female teams who tackle this race experience. Let’s face it, it’s not comfortable to run around the world with cramps and always wondering if you’re leaking. But just like in life, women find a way to make it work.
This week’s episode brought us to Greece. We struggled a bit in the below clip, what do you think went wrong? Tune in tonight at 9pm EST on CBS to find out.
