Own Your Strong @ Mudderella♥

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Mudderella. I received complimentary admission to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

You know that feeling you get after you sign up for something? At first, it's a great idea. But as the day gets closer you start feeling nervous and a little regret? All the training you planned on doing, never happened. And all of a sudden the day is here. You're laying in bed nervous as can be, reminding yourself "you can do this" but in the back of your mind believing you aren't ready? This is what happened to me with Mudderella.

My sisters & I signed up for Mudderella last Spring. This is something we always talked about doing but never really looked into it. We were over the moon excited. After we all signed up, we promised each other we would train and work together as a team. Summer flew by. Between all the weekend trips and back to school preparation we lost track of time. All that training we had planned, just didn't happen. But we all kept busy. With my daily family hikes, my sister doing Yoga and the others with full time jobs, we all seemed okay.

As the day got closer, my nerves kicked in. It really hit the night before. I remember pacing back and forth debating which obstacles I could and couldn't do. I was terrified. My hands would get sweaty just thinking about going through a tunnel. But I went. And the morning of Mudderella, as I was putting on my workout gear and waiting for my sisters I smiled and told myself YOU CAN DO THIS. I received numerous encouraging texts and my mom decided to join and be our Cheerleader and Spectator.

Everything was falling into place. Besides the weather. It was COLD and raining. The drive to Mudderella was pretty silent. I think we were all lost in our thoughts. As we pulled into the parking spot and looked at the shuttles, we all just kinda looked at each other and smiled. Our shuttle ride was full of other ladies participating in Mudderella, it was encouraging hearing other people stories. It definitely changed my feelings. Instead of being nervous. I was excited. Having not just my sisters by my side but my mom as well, I truly felt thankful.

After checking in and receiving our Bibs along with adding some face paint, we were ready. Standing at the finish line I finally noticed something. Something incredible. Surrounding us were hundreds of women. Women just like us. Some more fit and some more nervous. But we were all smiling. The energy around us was amazing. There were big teams and small teams. Some wore matching costumes, while others kept it simple. We were all freezing. Jumping in place to keep warm.

After stretching and hearing Mudderella's story. We all heard a countdown. 5.4.3.2.1.....GO! We started running, which didn't last very long. We all decided as long as we finished Mudderella, there would be no set time. We wanted to pace ourselves. The first obstacle came and we accomplished it. And after a few we all thought we are actually doing this and it's pretty easy. Until we reached our first wall. Climbing over it was easy. Throwing your leg over and climbing down was the hard part. My sister is scared of heights. She sat at the top of the wall and cried but with a little encouragement, she did it! But that wasn't all. We helped others get over there fear as well. We sat at the top of that wall and held a complete strangers hand, telling them "I promise, you can do this"! And guess what they did it!!

The hardest part for me was all the climbing. At one point I literally felt like giving up. That was until I felt a hand on my back and turned around to a determined smile given by my sister. I knew at that point, no matter what I would finish Mudderella. Through all the mud and obstacles. We never once stopped laughing or encouraging each other. Unfortunately due to the weather the slide at the finish line was closed so we decided we would run the last 200 yards to the finish line. The end was near, yet so far away. Crossing the finish line was emotional. We did it! We really did it. We hugged and cried. And hugged and cried some more.

This experience was extraordinary. Thankfully Mudderella did not live up to the fear I had put on it. Instead I learned my body is still strong. But not only that. I grew a tighter bond with my sisters. I look at them and think of all the amazing words they said. How they stopped to help me, no questions asked. How we left no one behind. How we helped complete strangers over come there fear. This is a day I will never forget.

Mudderella is an every woman event. It is a girls weekend activity, that will challenge you but not destroy you. Am I sore? Absolutely. But I overcame my fears with the most amazing team. We laughed until we cried. We threw mud at each other. We watched each other overcome our fears. For me that was the best part. And when I sign up for Mudderella again next year, I hope I remember this.

Check out Mudderella events near you and don't be scared. If we can do this, so can YOU!