We completed the Warrior Dash almost two weeks ago. And I
thought I would compile my thoughts on it.
By far, it was the toughest obstacle course race we have ever done, and
we were prepared for it! We did our
first one about 5 years ago, we did it just because. That first race was tough because we had just
started back at the gym, and we weren’t yet serious about “gym time”. I skipped a lot of the obstacles, and feel
like I barely made it through. We
learned that day, that we really weren’t in that great of shape. It was kind of awakening of “holy cow, we
aren’t 18 anymore.” We were both also at
the heaviest that we had been at, EVER!
This is the turning point of when we decided something needed to
change. So to create the motivation we
made the decision to work towards a goal.
The goal to do a tougher obstacle course race would be motivation for
two things: Get back to a healthier weight and get into better shape.
The day has come and gone and the question is; was goal was
achieved? Here are my general thoughts
on that:
Background: The
course was a 5k. 3.1 miles. It has 12 obstacles spread through the
course. A rough idea of what the
obstacles were like can be found here. We underestimated the course a small
bit. We trained and prepared for the
running and the obstacles. But what we
didn’t take into account was the fact that it would be through rugged mountain
terrain. It was not a flat course like
the others we did. Now if you have gone
for a hike in our wonderful Rockies, you know what rugged terrain I am talking about.
·
Thought #1: This was by far the toughest course
we have ever done. The in the first 1/4 mile we passed people who were on the
side puking, and I had a small asthma
issue from under estimating the rugged terrain.
I thought ““What the *&^% have we gotten into?” (This thought went
through my head through the first mile). We sent the kids ahead, knowing I needed
to pace myself differently. Ok, I got
this.
·
Thought #2:
First obstacle was high off the ground.
I thought great…….not only am I exerting myself through the mountains,
but now I have to figure out how to not have an anxiety attack due to my fear
of heights. That will only make my
asthma worse. I can’t do this. WTF, have
I gotten myself into. Jason, “Babe you got this!” No, no I don’t have this. After the first 2
obstacles, and about a mile into the course.
Ok, this isn’t so bad I got this.
Let’s do this! We are good.
·
Thought
#3: As we were waiting for our race time to approach we were watching others
who started earlier to cross the finish line.
A lady about 70 (or older) crossed that finish line. She was muddy and exhausted looking, but had
a smile on her face. It was obvious she
did the race on her own, as her family was waiting with a towel at the finish
line for her. We guessed it was a bucket
list thing. But through the race, as I
was having my “WTF” moments, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Then I started thinking about all the people
around our age that thought we were crazy for doing this race, at 40 years old. All of the people who think we are crazy for
going to the gym 4-5 times a week. And
that was when I realized that we are all our own worst enemies. We are masters of using our ages against
ourselves. We turn a certain age and
think, oh this (insert body part) hurts, and I can’t do that anymore. Or even say…….”Oh no, I am 40 now, I am too
old to do that”. We use our ages against
ourselves, period.
·
Thought #4- Just because we completed the goal
doesn’t mean it’s the end. Now along with that, I realized that even though
this was the toughest course we have done, I am in the best shape I have been
in since I have been 18. No, it’s not
that same type of shape, but I am in the best shape I have been in since high
school. Yes, things hurt. Years of sports is taking its toll on my
body, I have an achy shoulder and arthritis in my knees and hips. But it is what it is. I don’t allow that pain from stopping me,
because I have learned through this process that the more active I am, the less
I hurt. The less I weigh, the less I
hurt. The more consistent I am with work
outs, the better I feel, I am less irritable, I sleep better.
·
Thought #5:
It’s worth it! It is so very much worth it! So 5 months ago, when we decided to change a
few things up, it was not only for getting serious about this race, but because
we had to try something different. Jason’s
cholesterol test didn’t come back with the results we were hoping for. His Dr. gave him 6 months to make some minor
tweaks before he would be put on meds. It
was no longer…..eh you are fine. It was “You
are 40 now, your cholesterol levels went up despite the diet and exercise. It might be time”. Jason became determined to lower his
cholesterol on his own. More things got
tweaked in both diet and exercise. Coincidentally he had his blood re-take 3
days after the race. He got the results
he worked so hard to achieve. He brought
his levels down SIGNIFICANTLY on his own, without meds, through strictly
tweaking his diet and exercise.
·
Final thought:
IT IS WORTH IT for us. I will
forever say this. I do realize that not everyone shares our same views on diet
and exercise. I do realize some people
are content with the western meds. I
realize that as we get older, our bodies really do start changing. We both realize that eventually, because of
hereditary things, he will likely end up on meds. I realize that not everyone is capable of
being where we are at physically. But I
also realize it’s about perception, determination and dedication. At this point we are lucky enough to be able
to still work out, and that is a blessing that we need to take advantage
of. At this point in our lives, the
benefits far out weight the thought of letting our age make that
determination. Mind over matter, and as
long as we are capable we will keep going.
I personally hope to cross the same race line when I am 70 years old,
and I hope to have my husband with me. We
need to stay dedicated to being healthy.
With that final thought, I leave you with the hysterically
funny pictures of us during the race:
Enjoy.
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