Warriors do it better.
In January I asked to participate in something that changed my life forever. I was feeling very down and alone so I reached out to one of my best friends. Within our conversation, she told me about the Warrior Dash and emailed me a link to check it out. I looked at the link and laughed, “There’s no way you can do this!”
I then looked at the pictures on the Facebook page. There was one woman in particular that stood out to me. She was overweight and CLEARLY out of shape. She did it. “Maybe I can do this,” I thought. If I train and prepare myself I can do this. So the next I scraped together my $50 and registered myself for the July 30, running of the Warrior Dash in Mt. Morris, MI. I had seven months to prepare.
The Warrior Dash is a 3.1 mile race with 12 obstacles dispersed throughout. I couldn’t run a block without feeling like death! I had seven months to prepare.
I did some research online about where I should start. I decided to order some DVD’s and do some training at home. It was the dead of winter, there weren’t many other options. I printed a calendar off of my computer, hung it on the fridge (next to my registration form) and put stars on it for every time I worked out. My goal was to have a star on 6 days of each week. February passed and I had reached my goal. I had stars on every day but 2! I was starting to feel better. I had similar results for March, and as the weather got better and better, I began to walk outside. My new goal was to run a mile, without passing out. As days passed I continued to focus on my running goals while doing yoga to strengthen my body. I was getting stronger on the inside as well as on the outside. By summer I was running 15-20 miles a week. But, was I ready for the big day?
Race day forecast was sunny and 89 degrees. Oy! I prepared myself physically by eating well and drinking plenty of water the day before and the morning of the race. I mentally prepared by telling myself there’s no turning back now. You can do this!
As we arrived at the race site, the adrenaline was flowing through my body, excitement was in the air. I was ready. My friend was scared. We waited in the gate. There was rock music playing in the background, an MC worked the crowd. The smell of BO lingered in the hot, sticky atmosphere. There was black smoke billowing from the fire pits and the sound of people cheering each other on also swelled up through the music.
Shot-gun start. The first mile was running. I got this! It was hot. I was thirsty. Need water. The first obstacle was in sight, jumping junked cars. Is my tetanus shot current? I leap-frogged over the hot junk tires with ease. Off in the distance I could see the obstacle that I feared most. It was a 20 foot vertical wall with a rope attached to climb over it. Was I strong enough to pull myself over it? As we knocked out the next two relatively easy obstacles, I was mentally trying to prepare myself to face that wall and my fear of heights. My heart raced as we approached the wall. I was beginning to panic. I pushed past that fear and went for it! I did it! I AM strong enough to pull myself over the wall! Who knew? The rest of the obstacle paled in comparison to the three that forced me to face, and conquer my fear of heights. I was flying high on adrenaline as I jumped over roaring fires and plunged into mud pit to finish that race!
My friend and I finished the race together in one hour and four minutes. Others were finished with better times than that, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t about the time. It was about getting it done. In February I couldn’t even run one block!
I completed a huge goal in completing the race. I didn’t know when I started that registering for this event would change my life forever. Preparing for the race brought me on a journey that I never knew was coming. I am a stronger person, mentally and physically. I’ve learned so much about myself and will continue on the same path. Next year I am going to finish with a better time. Here are some of the truths I learned from the Warrior Dash.
1. I am stronger than I thought.
2. Push yourself. The results are amazing and the sky’s the limit.
3. Sometimes it’s okay to ignore that voice in your head, especially when it says, “I can’t.”
4. Mentally tough overcomes physically tough. Go for it!
5. Set goals and focus on that.
6. Progress, even if it’s small, should be celebrated!
7. The more prepared you are the better off you are.
8. Mud, sweat, and beer have the capability to make you fearless!
I am a WARRIOR!
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