Warrior Princess

One of the most beautiful aspects of being human is our ability to feel something so deeply that it brings tears to our eyes. Emotions swell and overwhelm us, sweeping us into a breathless current where we drown in a feeling of being so completely and absolutely alive.

Of course, it’s a lot more fun to drown in emotions like love, happiness, contentment. When I did the Warrior Dash in April of 2013, I was enveloped in a very different emotion: fear. Yeah, let’s just say that’s not as much fun.

Overall, I finished the Warrior Dash 5K in just under an hour and a half. And really, that’s not TOO bad when you consider that the obstacles took some time and there was some bottlenecking here and there. But I swear, if I never see a “Giant Cliffhanger” again, it will be too soon. You think runner’s trots are bad? Try being terrified of heights and trying to climb a wall using nothing but a knotted rope that doesn’t even go all the way to the top. Oh, don’t forget about being short and not being able to maneuver yourself over the wall without anything to hold on to (remember, the rope didn’t even want to get to the top of the wall). At this point you’re stuck on a wall that you barely made it to the top of and now you have to figure out the whole getting down thing. Well, there’s another rope. But of course that would require upper body strength that you no longer have since your arms were replaced with spaghetti. Rope burn? Splinters? Well, that would have been something to think about before sliding down the wooden wall while attempting to hold the rope so you can kind of look like you sort of did it right.

The good news is, I survived. The better news is, I made it through the rest of the obstacles and had an absolute blast going through the mud pit at the end. By the time I finished, I was exhausted and had earned quite a few bruises (People at work asked me how things were at home several times the following week. Was it wrong to widen my eyes, wring my hands, and say “fine” before looking down and shuffling away? Okay, I didn’t actually do this. But maybe I should have!).

I will say this: I have never been more proud of myself for anything. Nothing I’ve accomplished has taken more effort and strength than this, and even though it was terrifying, I was so glad I didn’t skip the Giant Cliffhanger as some other runners had. It was an incredible experience, and I’m already signed up for a similar obstacle run in October called the Gladiator Rock ‘N Run. Although I hear that one has some walls too…