The irony of completing this years Tough Gal challenge to close out one of the most difficult weeks I’ve had in recent memory is not lost on me I assure you. The poignancy of it, the lovely group of women I did the event with and, let’s be honest, the fact that I fucking killed it with no training (!) has helped strengthen my resolve this week and get my head back in the game. At the very least I am aiming not to cry for the next seven days!
The past week was a nightmare of scheduling, events, appointments, meetings, sports, kindy visits, play dates, volunteer obligations, a tragic funeral and a running race. Combine that with a toddler who is transitioning out of his daily nap and the resulting sleep schedule has seen me up in the middle of the night multiple evenings or just sleeping beside Nixie’s cot on the floor, passed out from sheer exhaustion.
Let’s throw in a little bit of blog drama shall we? I learnt a lesson this week (I actually learnt it twice fml!) and it’s one that any aspiring blogger needs to learn quick and fast; nothing online belongs to you. Your ideas, your posts, your creative vision, something you’ve worked so hard on for months……it can all be taken, tweaked, a new label put on it and it’s gone. Anything you post online is fair game and there’s nothing you can do about it. Don’t be fooled, the blogging game in New Zealand is small. Yes, it’s growing everyday and there are beautiful friendships and support networks that have blossomed as a result, but don’t let anyone tell you it’s not competitive because it damn sure is. Everyone wants a piece of the pie and if you thought a particular pie was yours then you better think again sister.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter too much. It hurts but it doesn’t matter. Like anything, concerning yourself excessively with what others are doing is only a disservice to yourself. Bringing the focus back inward has helped me just ‘survive’ the week and move on.
But the Tough Gal event was all kinds of amaze!
I was so nervous, I almost threw up. I overcame this by saying to my new-found friend Rebecca, “let’s do this, let’s go right to the front of the starting tunnel, charge it and get it done – fast!”. The end result wasn’t exactly fast in my opinion, 47 minutes for the 6km course, but I was pretty happy with my placing of 31st/316 in the Under 39 Female division and 158/742 finishers. Hell yes!
I have never been so dirty in my entire life. I’m pretty good at just embracing whatever environment I’m in. I don’t stress about sand at the beach (I mean, how can you? You’re at the BEACH!), and I literally just dived into the mud run and got on with it. Crawling over the mud was way faster in most instances then trying to wade through it, next year I’ll wear some rugby boots because lack of traction on the slopes is where valuable time is lost. The second half was the best. The very large mud obstacles were behind me and there was a long flat stretch where I could stretch my legs and just run, until hitting one of the man-made obstacles of course! These were cake though compared to the mud in the first half. The last 3 km’s go so much faster than the first 3 thank god, but finishing with a mudslide into an icy pool was a bit rough!
The day was gorgeously sunny and *almost* warm-ish. I can’t imagine how much more difficult this event would be in the rain, which you pretty much have to bank on seeing as it’s held in winter! I consider myself very lucky to have gotten my first mud event under my belt in dry conditions.
Thanks so much to Rosie, from Fit Mama for organizing her team and letting me be a part of it. It was beyond awesome to meet you amazing ladies and knock the bastard off yesterday – in more ways then one!
Have a great week everyone xx
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