Well fast forward to that Thursday, as I packed for another Spartan race, my normal anxiety is in full force. There's more at stake at this one...more to be afraid of.
- It's half way into my Double Trifecta
- It's a team trip
- It's in Colorado=5500ft elevation, cold and mountains (scary for this Texas girl)
- It's at a Military base where Olympians train
My husband, as always, tries to calm me down. He's a great encourager but my fears often drown out his uplifting words. The more I pack, the more those voices creep in..."Can I do it...What about the elevation...How many obstacles will you overcome and/or fail...Can you finally get up that rope...Will you survive?!"
I know I can't continue to stress over it...It's too late; I'm already committed.
Forget about the cold
Forget about the elevation
Forget about the difficulty of the obstacles
Forget about trying to keep pace with others
FORGET ABOUT THE ROPE
Just cross the Finish Line.
Yes it was COLD (40degrees)
Yes it was TIRING
Yes it was DIFFICULT
But YES I MADE IT
I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE
Honestly the rest of the day and weekend was a blur.
However, I get it now. That small whisper last week trying to give me a hint of things to come. The success that I had longed for. That 'Light' was actually between 2 raging oceans. The first ocean was full of doubt...the " Will I ever...It's not possible...I'm not strong enough...I can'ts."
But then a there was a light...a spark...a catalyst to the next ocean. The ocean of full of confidence...the "It can happen...Anything is possible...I am a BEAST...I can!"
The lesson learned from my roller-coaster of emotions:
If you work through your anxiety and pain on the other side there is a reward. Use it to push you to greatness.
I like how you used the movie title to express your feelings pre and post race. You're right! I'm always nervous before an OCR but as soon as I cross the finish line the inner badass arrives and I feel amazing! It's such a rewarding feeling to conquer obstacles and push yourself out of your comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI always get super nervous before all of my races too! Altitude is no joke. Congrats
ReplyDeleteDid you have to do anything to acclimate to the change in elevation?
ReplyDeleteNot really. Which was surprising. We drove from Texas so I do think that helped us get used to the elevation gradually. During the race we did notice that we got short winded faster than usual but nothing unbearable.Some advice we received: Stay hydrated and arrive early to get used to elevation
DeleteNot really. Which was surprising. We drove from Texas so I do think that helped us get used to the elevation gradually. During the race we did notice that we got short winded faster than usual but nothing unbearable.Some advice we received: Stay hydrated and arrive early to get used to elevation
DeleteIf we didn't get nervous before a major test, it wouldn't be a test. It would be a major success; it would simply be a fact of life. Love this!
ReplyDeleteIf we didn't get nervous before a major test, it wouldn't be a test. It would be a major success; it would simply be a fact of life. Love this!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the finish. Spartan races can be tough.
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