Running in the Mud

Last spring I posted a clip from a mud run/obstacle race that Max and I participated in together. The race itself was so much fun--exhilarating, challenging, unforgettable fun--and had a big and surprising impact on how I felt about myself and my body. After the race, I started thinking about working out to get stronger and faster--not skinnier--which allowed me to enjoy what I was doing during my gym time in a way I hadn't in a long time. In other words, I reconnected with my inner athlete. I started lifting more weights, which had the effect of increasing my muscle mass and metabolism, meaning I could eat more without gaining weight. And, as if that wasn't great enough, getting stronger made me feel, literally, stronger. More empowered. More in control. Yes, even happier.

I ended up writing an article for Marie Claire about my experience. You can read it in the April issue of the magazine, on news stands now.   

On a side note, one of the most interesting things I learned while reporting out the piece (that didn't make it into the article) is that when a man gets passed by a woman  on the course, it's called getting "chicked." I'm sure the feminists would have something to say about this, but in the race community, among the bad-ass women who are doing these races competitively (some have cash prizes), it's a word used with massive, bad-ass pride.

I get it. That day on the course, I left a good number of  men (shirtless, muscle-bound men) in the wake of my pink Nike shorts. One of them actually gasped when I passed him, which called to mind a memory from my childhood. During a weekday cross-country practice that was particularly long and hard, I passed a pair of brothers going up a hill, and one of them said to the other, "there goes superwoman," as I went by. Back then, I was just a girl in a ponytail and running shoes, a girl who wasn’t worried about the circumference of her waist or what her thighs looked like. Me. Superwoman.

The thing is, I'm still that girl, and running these races reminded me of that. What will they remind you of?