Fearless Warrior Princess

Yesterday I ran in the Warrior Dash, a 5k+ run that is essentially a big obstacle course. The course includes mud pits, fire hurdles, and climbing over junked-up cars. It was pretty amazing, and I had a great time, even though I didn't GET a great time. But I wasn't running for that purpose anyway, and neither were a lot of the participants. It was pretty obvious from the moment I walked onto the field and headed towards the starting line that people were mainly just interested in having a good time. Many people were dressed in costumes (I saw an Alice and Mr. Rabbit, complete with a blue dress for Alice and a cane for the rabbit), had on face paint, and I even saw a couple of guys donning kilts. (This made the wall-climb and rope ladders a bit precarious, but that's for another post.)

I had originally signed up for the Warrior Dash in November, when one of my long-time friends encouraged his Facebook friends to join him for the run. Seeing as the big event wasn't until July, 8 months later, I impulsively signed up. No matter that I hadn't run in a race for over 10 years, or that I didn't really like exercise that much, beyond the daily walks with Vinnie, my pooch. In 8 months, anything could happen! :) And I was sure I would be in shape by then. I called my dear friend to go with us, a 3rd, and as he was trying to nap at the time, he quickly agreed as long as I promised not to bug him for the rest of the night. Score!

So fast-forward to the end of June, 3 weeks ago. I still hadn't gone on a single run to train for the event. Finally, one afternoon I took Vinnie out and we went for a jog. As Vinnie had never gone jogging with me, he was a bit confused. He kept trying to stop to sniff the grass and pee on the bushes, but we were NOT stopping. I was going to run a mile or 2 if it killed me. The next week, I joined a running group and ran with them 1 time before the date of the Warrior Dash. But hey, 1 time was better than 0 times.

I woke yesterday, the day of the race, with butterflies in my stomach. I wasn't sure how this was going to be, or if I would survive. I quickly jumped in the shower (not sure why I showered before a run full of mud and gunk, but I wasn't thinking, obviously... and obviously not when I signed up for the run, either, or the 8 months I spent NOT training). I checked my phone for the time, and saw that I had missed 2 calls, and had a text message. The butterflies in my stomach increased their frantic flapping, as I knew who had called before I saw his name. It was my friend, calling to cancel. He wasn't feeling well. Ah, well... At least I had my other friend... right???

Another text message came to my phone, this time from Facebook. One of our mutual friends commented on my post about the run, wishing me luck and apologizing that our mutual friend was out of town for a job interview. Wow. I hadn't known this. I quickly texted my friend with the job interview to confirm, and to wish him luck.

So... on my own. And what to do? I quickly grabbed my gear and jumped in the car, figuring I could get to the site of the run and then decide. I figured I would bail on the run as well, but seeing as I was dressed and ready to go, it wouldn't hurt to go. Worst case scenario, I could take pictures of all the other muddy participants.

On my way to the site in North Bend, a dear friend called me. When she heard that my 2 running partners were not running, she consoled me. However, she quickly followed that up with, "But you are a Fearless Warrior Princess! You can do it, Warrior Princess! You go and have fun." Suddenly, I knew that even though I was alone, I could totally do this! I WAS fearless, AND a warrior (although I wasn't so sure about the princess part, but I guess in God's eyes I'm a princess), and I could kick some butt!

I remember a Christian Science practitioner telling me once that I could forget about being nervous or intimidated, 2 very common emotions for me, because I was "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalms 139:14). As I was running in the Warrior Dash yesterday, my friend's comments about me being a warrior princess, and this bible verse, were running through my mind. With this wonderful soundtrack, I finished the race and had a great time doing it.