You Can Call Me A Rugged Maniac

I've become one of those people.

The ones who brag about their athletic prowess on social media, eliciting the reader eyeroll.

The ones I used to make fun of ...

One of my co-workers, who happens to be half my age, is big into obstacle runs. She's been doing them for about two years as part of her love affair with the Crossfit "cult" (don't get me started on that tangent).

About a year ago, she talked me into registering for an obstacle run being held in Podunk (a LivingSocial deal offering half off the registration fee was a strong motivator). We registered for the event, only to have it cancelled a week before it was scheduled to take place.

In all honesty, I was relieved. I had doubts about my ability to complete the race without killing myself, or at the very least, having to be carted out on a stretcher.

A year later, with the encouragement of that same co-worker and a Groupon deal, I registered for a Badass Dash - a 7K obstacle run. I was nervous as hell. I knew there was no way I'd be able to run the entire course, and I doubted my ability to even finish.

But I did finish.

Worse yet?

I really enjoyed doing it.

Sure, I was sore for two weeks (Really ... TWO weeks), and I had more scrapes and bruises that a 5-year old riding a bike for the first time without training wheels, but I finished the course.

Today I will be participating in my fourth event this year, and I couldn't be more excited.

It turns out that all of my fears - from being discovered unconscious in a supine position somewhere on the course, to being the fat girl who doesn't even belong on the course - were all unfounded.

These events are about team work (even if you are participating as an individual) and SUCCESS.

The events are run so that the elite, competitive athletes can do their thing and be challenged, and the weekend warriors can also do their thing and be challenged.

Today, I'll start the Rugged Maniac course in a slow jog, and likely be walking by the time I hit  the first obstacle. I'll attempt to complete every single obstacle - some I'll get through all on my own - some I'll need help to get through - and there will be one or two that get the best of me, and I'll have to walk around them.

And that's okay

I'll still feel accomplished when I hit that finish line!