Bacon Tutus and Jumping Through Fire?! Must be a Warrior Dash Recap!

By:  Warrior Mom, Amy Hietter

No one has ever said to me, “Amy, great job changing those dirty diapers today!” or, “Way to clean up all that baby vomit! Good work!”  Being a mom is not glamorous.  It’s gritty and tough.  When asked if I wanted to run the Warrior Dash in Dallas TX, I thought to myself… running through fire, crawling under barbed wire, swimming through mud…it couldn’t be that much different than spending a day with my 15-month old daughter!!

So I packed my suitcase and headed to Dallas, in what would be my first trip EVER without my child, my first girls weekend in years, and my first Warrior Dash.  I have been running and training at Crossfit Springfield for almost exactly a year to the day.  My Crossfit “family” has become just as important to me as the workouts.  I have made such amazing friends in the last year, and I was delighted to spend so much time with Crossfit ladies, Kristy Taylor, and Amanda Nevill.

The race was awesome. The event had a giant stage set up at the starting line with bands and go-go dancers.  People were everywhere…over 13,000 people competed in the event over the course of two days.  The route was 3.24 miles, included 15 obstacles and lots of mud.  Amanda, Kristy, and I ran together and cheered each other on.  I’m not really sure how we finished and I’m not too concerned.  You know you are a Crossfitter when you finish the Warrior Dash and want to sneak in line with another heat and do it again!  We didn’t do it…but maybe next time?

In addition to the race, there was also a costume contest!  There is a time and a place for glittery-foam-bacon-tutus.  And?  I found it.  I normally take my workouts pretty seriously…but sometimes it feels so damn good to be silly.  To me it feels good to put on a crazy outfit.  It feels good to dance to Bohemian Rhapsody with my friends at the starting line of a race.  It feels good to run through mud puddles with a bunch of strangers.  And, it feels good to cross the finish line with friends.

We all survived the Warrior Dash!  I love the sense of accomplishment and acknowledgment I get at the end of a race.  I missed my daughter like crazy and couldn’t wait to get back to being a mom.  In a perfect world, maybe they would give out medals for reading bedtime stories, wiping away tears, and cleaning up poop.  But for now I’ll settle with my race medals and t-shirts.  I had such an amazing weekend!  I think it’s pretty cool that someday, when my daughter is looking back through old pictures, she’ll come across one of mom jumping over fire in a tutu. 🙂