On one hand, my age has never really bothered me. Okay, I'm lying a bit. But in terms of my position in life, I haven't minded really getting older.
On the other hand - I despise it. I absolutely HATE it. Not because I'm vain, although I would probably give my left arm to have my 20 year old body back. I love the wisdom I have gained through the years but just wish it would slow the hell down.
And if one more kid calls me "ma'am" I think I might stab them in the eye.
I've been a bit MIA from my blog lately, mostly due to crazy scheduling. Work is BUSY, home is BUSY and the little man is keeping us running around like crazy. But it's all good - that's life.
Hubs and I worked so hard last week that by 9:00 Friday night, kidless, we fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. At 9:00 pm. Lame. We were watching the 40 movie (I'm 40, It's 40? I can't remember... because I'm over 40). I laughed a several scenes but honestly so much of it was too real for me to be funny. But I will say that one of the lines in the movie I doubt I will ever forget was "The best years of your life are between 40 - 60". I totally believe that (only because I'm there, I'm sure).
To prove I'm not old and I'm still a bad ass, Hubs and I signed up and ran the Warrior Dash this weekend. Yes, we are crazy... thanks for noticing. At 4:45 am Saturday morning, we both looked at each other secretly hoping one of us would admit we didn't want to go. No such luck, thank goodness. We trudged out of bed, threw on clothes, packed our bags and headed north to the obstacle course.
By the time we arrived the adrenaline was pumping and we were totally excited. Just took a bit of nudging to get outta the house, that's all.
 |
| Obviously pre-mud |
We lined up and cheered as we went through the starting gate. Our first mile was fantastic - we both felt great and energized. The first obstacle was in sight. OH MY GOD. Let the nerves begin!
As I approached the Mud Mounds I seriously doubted myself instantly. How in the hell am I going to do this? Run, climb up a mudslide (basically) grabbing a rope to help pull you up then slide down the other side into a pool of muddy, freezing water.... four times. Pulling your own body weight with no traction at the foot. Yikes. Somehow by the grace of God I made it over... by going around the small side of the mounds. Hey, I got over!
Once sufficiently muddy, next up were the Barricade Barriers. Think hopping chain link fences as a kid (throw your leg to the side and swing over). Yep. And in between? Barbed wire you have to go UNDER. So under / overs, basically. Totally doable.
The next couple of obstacles were new but provided us an opportunity to wash off a bit. Walking planks with water raining down on you (cold, in case you wondered) across pools of more cold water. Quite scary for me actually - became a test of balance. The following one was an up and over... climb up 2x4 stairs and back down the other side, with water pouring on you. Sounds lame but trust me, it wasn't totally easy.
And then the mother of all, for me anyway. Vicious Valley. Now remember friends... I'm wet. I'm muddy. My shoes weight a hundred pounds. And I gotta do this:
Oh... and I'm afraid of heights and this is HIGH. Climb up cargo nets (on the right), swing leg over, come back down with tiny little studs to put your feet on. YEAH....
We did it. We did all of it. We high fived each other at the bottom of every obstacle, feeling totally invincible just like we did in our 20's.
We did about 6 more obstacles, finishing of course in the mud.
As I lost my balance sliding under a barbed wire, I instinctively reached out to Hubs for support. Little did I know I pushed him straight down into the mud face first.
Yeah, I'm a good wife like that.
We held hands high as we crossed the finish feeling victorious.
Sunday morning, I rolled to my side and looked at Hubs. I hadn't even moved two inches and I could already tell. My biceps were on fire. My traps were burning. My thighs were trembling. Yeah... I was gonna pay for this.
So I did the best thing ever. I got up, threw on my shoes and went for a 3 mile run with a girlfriend. Why not heap a little more crazy onto crazy?
In all, I learned how much I miss my 20 year old body. Truth be told... my 20 year old self wouldn't have run Warrior Dash. She was shy and afraid of new things. She was not very athletic although in really great shape. And she didn't have near the courage my 40 something self has today.
I guess it's not all bad to get older. I wonder how crazy I'll be at 50? Who knows... by then I may be swinging from trees.
A girl can dream.
Have a great Monday friends!
Jen
No comments:
Post a Comment