warrior dash

today was that day of the year when all of the southern marylanders who consider themselves athletes got together to torture themselves with water and mud....running (or walking) 3.1 miles thru an obstacle laden course......finished off by a lovely crawl under barbed wire thru smelly, funky, nasty sludgy mud.....FUN!! and we PAID to do it!!


its times like these when i wonder what the hell we are thinking? and the most obvious answer is that we all love a challenge....there is absolutely no other reason to do these kinds of events. none. i think the fact that we actually consider it fun makes us all a little screwy.....but it really is.





and what makes it fun is the camraderie.....being surrounded by hundreds of people who all have the same goal....finish the damn thing and grab a free beer :).....its the same at every race or run i've ever been to.....people of all ages, weights, fitness levels doing their thing.....and i'm always always shocked by the people who kick ass....here we are, a group of fairly fit, college level athletes - getting our ass cracked by a bunch of old people in camo, and moms in tutus, and guys in diapers.....its humbling to say the least.

Swallow your pride occasionally, it's non-fattening! author unknown

i enjoy a challenge....but mostly im at the point where if i dont have these crazy things to do, i may never get off my couch!! i have realized that i am no longer motivated to work out just for the sake of it....i make myself exercise so that at the NEXT crazy challenge i wont be the person in dead last....not that that's not okay - seriously as long as you are out there you deserve all the credit in the world.....and if you are out there and SHORT, you deserve all that and more - i swear the people who think up this crap are all 6 feet tall!! but thats just me :)

"I DONT HAVE TIME" is the adult version of "THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK"

we all have to figure out what motivates us....ive always been better with distractions.....and really thats what all these events are - exercise with distractions....perfect for my A.D.D. self.....and they make you SIGN UP!! its a whole lot harder to blow something off if you signed up and paid money....so all those mornings i dont want to go to they gym, i have to think about what i have coming up....and if i'm ready for it....THAT'S what gets me out of bed....not wanting to feel like dog poop at whatever the next thing i have coming up is.

i've spent a lot of time telling myself that i dont have time....but i do. i make time for what is important.....maybe traditional fitness isnt as important to me as it once was - clearly i'm not making as much time for it....but i'm keeping my feet in the water by signing up and showing up.....and i find im measuring myself by how i feel afterwards....and usually that's super tired, maybe a little sore, but very very satisfied with myself!!

this is the first time in my life that i've had what i would call a "run" buddy....and the funny thing is that we dont run together at all....but somehow we became partners in crime in keeping each other signed up for all this nonsense.....and it really helps knowing that someone else out there is not only doing it with you, but needs the same kind of motivation that you do. so if you dont have a crazy friend, i recommend trying to find one...or hooking up with us - we are signed up for all kinds of crazy this year.....all the way thru november :)

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. ~Attributed to Carl Bard

its never too late to start something new....its never too late to get involved....and its never too late to challenge yourself.....make the decision to try something new - see where it takes you :) you might end up covered in mud and soaking wet, but you might also find that you like it !!