Warrior Dash(es)

I have two Warrior Dash medals.  One from Warrior Dash Tennessee and one from Warrior, Alabama. Everyone should do at least ONE obstacle course in their life, and I definitely recommend Warrior Dash.  It's a short enough distance (3.1 miles) that most people can do it without TOO much training, and that it's still lots of fun.  Others, like Tough Mudder, seem too long to me.  Maybe I'm just not hardcore enough, but 13.1 miles PLUS obstacles is a lot.

My first Warrior Dash was the Tennessee one.  Justin and I went with Josh and Emily, and Alison met us there.

Here we are before:

And then after:

I think Alison swam through the mud in some of the obstacles.  Or maybe she fell?!?!

Warrior Dash Tennessee was a relatively flat course with lots of obstacles:  cargo net climbs, rope walls, climbing over old cars.  It was SO much fun!

For the dash in Warrior, Alabama, we were a little more experienced.  Only Emily and I were able to go, but we thought through our outfits a little more and decided on something cute:

We took this photo indoors because it was POURING down rain.  We headed out anyways and ended up running the dash in the rain.  I think this helped keep us a little cleaner, as well as the swim through the pond towards the end.  Here is our after:

The only thing different about Warrior, AL's dash was that the running course was definitely tougher.  I felt like we were running up and down the side of a steep mountain.  We would run up, back down, and up again the side of a hill so steep that people were holding onto trees to keep from sliding back down (the rain didn't help this!).  Then out through a field and through a few obstacles and back to the hill up and downs again.  Still lots of fun but definitely more tough than Tennessee's course.

Check out the Warrior Dash site for locations and dates.  And then let me know if you sign up--I might just join you :)

Rebuilding Together 5K: Race Recap

Toray, the company who puts on this race, is our partner in education at school.  This was my initial reason for running the race 4 years ago.  I have continued to run it and it is definitely one of my favorites!  The course is relatively flat and through a nice neighborhood.  Plus, lots of my school people are there to cheer me on :)

I got to the race course around 7 a.m.  The race wasn't scheduled to begin until 8 a.m., but I was signed up to help with registration and "stuff".

The gun went off right at 8 a.m.  I ALWAYS start out way too fast, so I tried my hardest to slow myself down just a little.  Dang if I didn't want to keep up with those 16 year old cross country kids though! =)  I definitely started out too fast anyways, and burned out toward the end.  I was lead female until about 2.5 miles, and I really wanted to hold that position, but I had no get-up-and-go left.  (PART of my problem could have been the fact that I ate nothing for breakfast.  Not smart, I know.)

I finished with a time of 24:34, which is still a personal best for me.  24th runner overall (out of around 100), 2nd female finisher overall, and 1st in my age group.  I really can't complain, but I could definitely KICK myself for not pushing myself harder and being 1st female overall.  (I'm a little competitive like that!)

My friend Tina ran this morning, and it was her first 5K.  Tina had gastric bypass surgery and has lost almost 100 pounds.  She is super dedicated to eating healthy, exercising, and keeping her health on track.  I am so proud of and inspired by her! (She is second from the left in this photo.  That's me, second from the right.)