Are you a warrior?

Dear Em,
This Saturday was one of the most physical & fun Saturdays we've had in a while. Your daddy & I competed in the Warrior Dash with a group of friends. It was amazing.

What is the Warrior Dash? It's a 5K with obstacles, & the proceeds go to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They hold them all over the country. Ours was just over the border of Rhode Island in Connecticut. It's also a party. There was a stage with a band, food (some free), & beer (if you complete the course, the first one is free). Plus, you bring home a fuzzy warrior helmet, a t-shirt, a medal, & pride in yourself for finishing.

Our team before the race. We were the Wicked Awesome Super Heros: Mr. Clean, Wonder Woman, Mr. Koolaid, Hulk Hogan, Animal, Super Man, & Spider Man (yeah, we may have gotten a little liberal with the super heros).

Your daddy & I went with a group of seven people. Our course included eleven challenging obstacles. Climbing a cargo net, crawling under barbed wire, using a rope to climb up a steep wall & then dropping down the slide, crawling in two feet of mud, & jumping over fire were just some of the the things we did on Saturday. As we approached each obstacle, I questioned myself. "I don't know if I can do this," I thought. I worried about breaking parts of my body or getting halfway through & not being able to finish. I mean, when was the last time I tried to climb a 20 foot wall? Um, never. But, I did it. I surprised myself each time, & I did it.

That's not to say I was a stellar athlete the whole time. I had trouble with the running. I knew that I would. I'm not much of a distance runner. Well, maybe I could be if I actually trained (which I'm hoping for next year). I got ran halfway through the course & then had to walk. The rest of our team runs 5Ks & half marathons for fun & were way ahead of us, but your daddy stayed with me. We did the whole race together, cheering each other on as we went. It was such a great feeling when we crossed the finish line together.

Our team post race.

After the race, we got hosed down by firefighter hoses. It probably doesn't sound very appealing, but it felt so good to let the cold water power-wash off all the mud & sweat. We were still kind of muddy & pretty dirty as we enjoyed the after-party & a beer (or two). We admired our medals & the funky tan lines were were getting through the mud. We challenged ourselves, & we did it. It was so fun.

And now my body is so sore. It's not broken, but it is sore.

I can't wait to do it again next year.

I love you so,
Mommy