Last weekend I did something I never thought I would be able to do: I ran a Spartan Sprint.
If you don't already know this next bit of information about me, please, allow me to explain. I tend to look at everything in life as half empty. I go into most situations with the expectation that it will not be fun, people will be unkind, they won't like me, or, ultimately, I will fail at whatever I may be faced with (interactions, conversations, games, etc.). That's a lot for one mind to take into every single situation, but sadly I do. The Lord is helping me work through this though.
So naturally, going into a Spartan, I just assumed that I would literally suck. I know my weak areas and figured they would win out. I knew going into the race that I would not be anywhere near the fastest, strongest or even the fittest. I guess you could say that I wasn't well prepared mentally.
Somehow though, I ate clean a month before and began grip training to prepare my body for two of my least favorite things in the world: rope climbing and monkey bars. I used to love playing around on the monkey bars as a child but age and lack of upper body strength has changed my relationship with this activity.
Race Day came. My sister and I looked at one another and we both agreed on not killing ourselves on the first mile and first few obstacles. Then one by one, the miles came and went along with each obstacle. I was preparing my body and mind to reach a point of complete exhaustion and ultimately, failure. It never came though. Little by little, each challenge was met and accomplished.
The Barbed Wire Crawl was hard! It was right near the end and there were many times when I wanted to give up and just lay in the warm grass. I didn't though. I kept going because the end was nigh!
Not only did I carry the mens bucket, but I unknowingly carried the mens sandbag (I unfortunately do not have a picture of that) as well! I felt super tough being able to carry those things.
I have no idea why I spread my arms like I did in the picture above. I guess I thought I was flying, LOL!
We did it! I am so PROUD of my baby sister. She did such a great job and was such a great teammate to run with. Sis, next time we are definitely running together!
My sister and I said throughout the entire weekend that we knew it would be by God's strength alone that we would make it through the race. And it was by His grace alone that we not only finished, but did better than we thought.
That weekend was a blessing in many ways. The Lord used that time with family and friends to show me His timing is always on time, and that if He brought me to it, He would walk me through it. I don't know how else to explain it, but I really didn't have a lot of faith in myself. I mulled over not even going to run this Spartan because I thought, "What's the point? Everyone else is going to look at me and judge me because of my lack of skill."
Comparison is the thief of joy.
It's amazing what the mind can do to the body. I knew going into this that I could have trained better, but instead of just letting that go and having confidence that I would do my best, I let the negative consume my thoughts and almost control my actions.
With the Lord's help, I really did surrender all my fears and woes. I left them at the foot of the Cross and ran with His strength in me. He not only brought me to the START line, but He led me over the FINISH.
Here are a few highlights.
Hardest Obstacles: The Atlas and Sandbag Carry. Both were extremely heavy and hard to carry. The Atlas rock (75 pounds I think) had to be carried a short distance but not the sandbag! That sucker had to be carried around a little course and it was HARD.
Obstacles I anticipated to be much harder: All of the walls. The 6 foot Wall, the Inverted Wall, the Z-wall, the Cargo Nets, the Helix wall, the Slip Wall, all of those I thought were going to be my biggest challenges. Surprisingly though, I was strong working through/over them. A big thanks to my sister for helping me over most of them! I couldn't have done it without her.
Obstacles I enjoyed: The Dunk Wall, the nasty swamp walk (this wasn't an official obstacle but part of the course), and the Fire Jump!
Favorite moments: Seeing fellow Spartans help my sister and I out while on the course. Wether that was by hoisting us up a wall, giving us tips on how to safely pick up and carry a 75 pound rock, or by giving us encouragement along the way, the people were great!
In His Strength,
Sarah
What about you? What's one of the most challenging things you have ever had to do in your life?
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