It's official... I. am. a. WARRIOR!

September 28, 2013. A day that I will remember as the day I overcame my fears and failures and conquered what I had at one time imagined to be impossible for me to complete.

September 28, 2013 - Warrior Dash in New Kent, Virginia.

Jeff and I were in the car and on the road at 5 AM, headed to Virginia for a weekend getaway that would begin with 4 hours in the car and would lead us to be - quite literally - dragged through the mud.

Warrior Dash has the potential to be a 3.1 mile trail run. It has the potential to take you through a semi-cleared trail in the woods, encountering some logs across your path, thick mud, and tall, prickly grasses. It has the potential to be nothing more than a 5K in the woods. It also has the potential to blow your mind and make you do things you truly believe you are not capable of doing.

Warrior Dash gives you the option to skip obstacles if you do not feel comfortable completing them. It allows you to bypass the "deep water" obstacles, climbing, and fire-jumping. It allows you to skip all the obstacles, if you so choose, and just run 3.1 miles.

I almost succumbed to temptation. I almost let Warrior Dash allow me to skip an obstacle, but I knew I would not be able to proudly and honestly say I completed Warrior Dash if I skipped anything, which is why I climbed 3 different 15- to 20-foot walls, relying on my non-existent upper-body strength to do it. It's why I stood halfway up The Great Warrior Wall and decided to keep climbing upwards, instead of giving in to fear and sliding back down the 8 feet I had already put below me.

I know The Great Warrior Wall doesn't look like much, but when you stand at the bottom of a vertical wall that towers 10 feet over your head and you have to find a way to climb it with a  rope and a few 1.5" ledges that are spaced 3 feet apart, it looks quite daunting. In my first attempt, I reached the first ledge. I clung tightly to the rope and thought there was no way I could do this. After just coming from a similar obstacle that had a slanted wall that you scaled with the help of ropes, my muscles were burning and I didn't trust myself to not fall off this wall. A few girls ran by and yelled to their friends who were already perched on the top of the wall, "I am so sorry... I can't do this... I am too scared." I thought about those words and realized it's not a matter of can vs. can't - it is will vs. won't, did vs. didn't. And I was going to get over that wall somehow.

I had reached the halfway point when I absolutely froze. I looked up at Jeff, who was straddling the top, his hand outstretched to me, waiting to help me up and over. I looked down at the line of other runners approaching, waiting to take my rope so they could climb and finish the event in a timely manner. I realized at that moment that I had to make a choice - go up, further from the ground, and risk a fall from a greater height, or go down, and give up. Both options scared me, so I figured "what the hey" and climbed upwards. At the very top, Jeff grabbed my hand and I swung over to the other side, which is just a ladder you climb down. I don't think I've ever gone down a ladder so quickly in my life. In talking about the event, I asked Jeff if he thought I would give up on the obstacle. He admitted that he thought I was going to give up, but was so proud that I had kept going. I confessed that I truly was paralyzed with fear and that I really thought about skipping the obstacle, but I knew I wouldn't be happy if I skipped anything.

Hard Rain - Water shoots down at you when you climb one side, and shoots up at you as you slide down the other.
This angle shows the back-side on the left and the ladder side on the right.

Cargo Climb! My favorite of the climbing walls because I had the most control and felt the most secure.
It looks pretty tiny until you see the people that are on it.

Pre-race; Jeff wanted a shot of me with the helmet on.

The helmets are a big part of the event... some people race in theirs the entire way!

This is after the "shower" at the end of the race. Hoses can only do so much.
Needless to say, this shirt was left behind in a trash can in the Warrior Dash parking lot.
Also, the medal doubles as a bottle opener.
And you can see Cargo Climb in the background.

 

I am so glad I went through with completing Warrior Dash. I tried talking myself out of it before I signed up, and then realized that I have overcome so much, and I wanted to do something that would require even more strength, energy, drive, and confidence than anything else I have done. So I went through with the registration and I am so incredibly happy that I have completed Warrior Dash! I look forward to many, many more in the future!

The Anthem

In my last post, I talked about Katy Perry's song "Roar," and how it really affects me as a person. I've been thinking a lot recently about how every person, runner or not runner, seems to have an anthem - a song that really represents them and inspires them. I know we typically think of anthems as being reserved for nations or pews on Sunday mornings, but why shouldn't we all have our own personal anthem that drives us to be our very best self?

I grew up with music - listening to it, performing it, writing lyrics for it - and it means so much in my life. I just read the other day that every book that exists is just a different combination of the same 26 letters, and the lyrics to our favorite songs are no different. But when those 26 letters are combined just right, magic happens.

I thought I'd share a few of my recent anthems and some of the lyrics that really speak to me!

Katy Perry - ROAR

Now I'm floating like a butterfly  -  Stinging like a bee, I earned my stripes

I went from zero to my own hero

You held me down but I got up, already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice, you hear that sound, like thunder gonna shake the ground

You held me down but I got up, get ready 'cause I've had enough

I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire

'Cause I am a champion and you're gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion, 'cause I am a champion

And you're gonna hear me roar

 

 

Lemonade Mouth - DETERMINATE

Gotta turn the world into your dance floor

Determinate, determinate

Push until you can't and then demand more

Determinate, determinate

You and me together, we can make it better

Gotta turn the world into your dance floor

Determinate, determinate

 

 

 

Lemonade Mouth - BREAKTHROUGH

Stop still take another breath, road block move it to the left

Get around whatever's in your way

Heartbreak pick up all the pieces, don't stop dancing in the bleachers

It's gonna be your turn to play, gonna be your turn to play

Sometimes it's raising your voice, sometimes it's making some noise

Sometimes it's proving to the world it was wrong

Whenever you can't see the light, whenever there's no end in sight

Keep on keep on moving on, keep on moving on

Here comes a breakthrough, here comes a day

Here comes a moment that you gotta go for it, so don't let it get away

It's all a breakthrough, just turn the page

'Cause everyday I'm getting closer, life is just a rollercoaster

 

 

 

Papa Roach - STILL SWINGING

Non-stop, devastating everything, on top, never coming down

I've got, my hands in everything, non-stop, I'm never coming down

We're just living for today, keep our light on in the haze

Yeah forever we will stay, we are the ones still swinging

We are a beacon in the dark, the lighthouse risen from the heart

We've been here from the start, we are the ones still swinging
 

Yes, I have teeny-bopper Disney Channel movie music and Papa Roach all on the same soundtrack. I love listening to music that encourages me to keep going, and each of these does that for me. The Papa Roach song has a driving beat that is great for running and reminds me that I am still swinging, not backing down from the fight of improving myself each and every day.


I hope everyone out there has an anthem that inspires and drives you. If not, keep your ears peeled - you may find one that motivates you very, very soon!

You're gonna hear me ROAR

Jeff and I just got back from the NFL Run Series Back to Football 5K. What a great event! Since one of our goals in life (hello, Bucket List!) is to see all the NFL stadiums in person, we decided to visit FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, for the 5K since it was cheaper than buying tickets to a game.

The event was preceded by a week of 5 hours of sleep each night. I worked until 6:30 on Friday, came home, finished packing, and Jeff and I drove down to Rockville, MD. We got to the hotel after 10 PM, and because we checked in so late the only rooms they had left were upgraded rooms on the Club level. Free breakfast was even included (though we had to leave at 5 AM and breakfast wasn't served until 6:30). It was a great night's sleep, if only for 5 hours. We were up at 4:45 and on the road to Landover at 5 AM.

View from the elevator... The Club Lounge at the Sheraton. Gotta love a comp upgrade!

When we arrived at FedEx Field at 5:45, it was still dark out and about 55 degrees. My teeth were chattering on the long walk from the van to packet pickup, but we warmed up in the car for an hour then (yeah, we were early) before the race started.

FedEx Field at 5:45 AM on a Saturday morning.

Pre-race, they had people leading stretches to music and even had the Redskins Cheerleaders there to cheer us on! The course wound through the parking lot, which ended up being much hillier than we expected, but not terrible! We finished the race in the Bud Light Party Pavilion with the cheerleaders once again cheering for us! Results were posted almost immediately on a wall at the stadium and we were THRILLED when we saw that Jeff came in 7th place overall! I started looking for my name on the last column of results but Jeff was the first to find my name, which was in the middle column. The MIDDLE column... as in, not the very last page like where I typically find myself. Little victories...

Even though we finished outside the stadium, we were able to go into the stands to get photos of the field. I love being in stadiums and feeling the hugeness of the atmosphere. It's generally better when the stands are packed with fans all cheering for the same team, but it's great to be there at all!

 

This was my best race yet! I had my personal best time (by a whopping 6 seconds!) of 32:46. I placed 347 overall, out of 918 runners. It was the first time I've ever finished in the top 50%! I was in the top 25% of all women, and the top third of my age group! Normally I finish in the top 75-90% in those categories, so today I was blown away.

 

On the long drive home we were listening to my running playlist, which now features Katy Perry's "Roar." I played the song 3 times in a row, trying to get Jeff to learn the words. I was singing at the top of my lungs and all of a sudden got a little choked up in the chorus. The entire song is about overcoming someone who holds you back, but in my case, that person has never been anyone other than myself. Reflecting on the past year just really made me proud of how far I've come. I know so many people have done so much more than I have (think Biggest Loser contestants), but I am still thrilled with my progress since November, and today's race just made me realize how much it's all paying off. I also get so excited for other people who are clearly challenging themselves. I saw at least three people crying when they crossed the finish line, and I can only imagine their stories of triumph and victory. We are all overcoming obstacles, whether they are injuries, others, or ourselves, and I am so proud of EACH of us for this. And I am hooked on screaming at the top of my lungs that I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!