It all started just over a year ago. We had friends of ours over for dinner and one of them had finished his first Tough Mudder the day before. His arms and legs were torn up, he needed an extra dose of ibuprofen, and was slightly concerned he may have broken his nose. More importantly, he challenged himself. In a event where most would decide they were too fat and lazy to bother, he emerged victorious.
Days before we has just celebrated Jimmy's first birthday. While I was no longer wearing maternity clothes, I was overweight and out of shape. I used to be a runner. I could run 5 miles a day for days in a row with no major physical discomfort. Having two children and quitting my career to be a stay at home mom left me buried in an unfamiliar cocoon.
I felt lost.
I couldn't find Me.
I needed to make a change.
At that dinner last August, I decided I would train and finish the Tough Mudder next year. I talked my husband into doing it with me. It was a good excuse to get back in shape and set a specific goal and time frame.
We bought two of the least expensive running strollers and started running. We found two framed backpack kiddo carriers at a consignment store and started hiking as a family. We cut out fast food. We ate at home. We did yoga videos and got a medicine ball to exercise with. I decided to do a plank a day, everyday. In May, we climbed a volcano to over 11,300 feet above sea level.
But training time is up and my Tough Mudder is in two days. In the beautiful, autumnal mountains of West Virginia. I'll be honest. I go back and forth between totally pumped and scared shitless. But I set out to do the Tough Mudder and finish it, and damn it, that is exactly what I am going to do.
Me, August 2013
I'm going to do something I don't often ask you do to. I want you to make a donation to my Tough Mudder race. The extra bonus is that I am running the Mudder on Team Microsoft and Microsoft has pledged to match every donation I collect for the Wounded Warrior Project.
The ante has been upped and my husband has pledged to match all your donations as well! Thanks, lover!
Give $50 and make dinner at home instead (Your $50 becomes a $200 donation!). Give $30 and skip the lattes this month (It will become a $120 donation.) Give $10 and pass on a yard of new fabric that you don't really need (It will become a $40 donation.). Give something. Because this money goes to benefit people who left their families and put their lives on the line so you didn't have to. They fight so you don't have to and they came back with no legs, or missing an arm, or have sustained some other injury that you won't ever encounter in your daily routine.
Please make a donation today. If you absolutely can't make a donation, please share my story on your facebook and twitter. Pin this post. Tag me in your instagram. Help me meet me goals. And I'll surely be posting the before and after pictures next week!
Need more inspiration? Check out this video about the relationship between the Wounded Warrior Project and the Tough Mudder.
Thank you in advance for your generosity. See you at the finish line! (And don't forget to make a donation!)
