{I DID IT!}

I did it! I ran my first race!!! I've been wanting to do a 5K for a couple of years, but just haven't been able to commit to one...until recently. I was asked to participate in the "RUGGED MANIAC" mud run and of course I was excited. Truth be told, I probably should have trained a bit more, okay, a lot more. And I probably shouldn't have done a mud run as my first race. 

I was scared beyond belief in the weeks leading up to the race! I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I had no idea how hard it would actually wind up being. I figured it would be 3.1 miles including 20 obstacles - so really, how much could I have to do?! Let me tell you how much...3.1 miles. I swear they had you run 1.5 - 2 miles just to start. Let's go back to the lack of training thing, yeah, I should've trained more! (and maybe eaten less junk that week!)

There were a few pretty small obstacles in the first 2 miles, I still needed help with them, but in the big scheme of things, they were small. Then, the worst obstacle of all reared its ugly head. I don't know what the technical name was, but I called it the "platform boat thingy", because it looked like a platform on the water...and there were 4 of them and they were separated by a few feet (I think like 4-6 feet, but I could totally be wrong!) of water. ***NOTE: These things were wobbly and our shoes were covered in MUD!*** I made the jump and cleared the first 2! I was fortunate to have supportive team mates that were helping me make these insane jumps with my short little legs, but even they couldn't save me from disaster on the 3rd jump. I felt like the 2nd & 3rd platforms were much farther apart, but I still tried to make the jump and I didn't make it. My left foot made it, but my right leg smashed into the side of the platform. It was the worst pain I've ever experienced! Holy bajeebers, it hurt - and I still had about 15+ obstacles to go! 

After the platform boat thingy, we picked up the pace and started running again and continued with the crazy obstacles, most clearly designed for people with long legs. I am thankful that my team was patient with my slowness and also my little legs. I got lots of boosts and lots of hoisting up :) And honestly, I don't know how I could have done most of the obstacles without help. 

I have no idea how long it took us to finish the race nor do I care, all I cared about was finishing it. Quitting was not an option. I am so glad I pushed myself and didn't give up, especially after getting hurt to early. And I think I can say, "never again!" I would like to do another 5K race, but I think I'll forfeit the mud next time :)

before, after + my sweet leg

It looks like a kitten tried to climb my legs!