Impi Warrior 2012 - Stretching mind and body

I did the Impi Challenge!

Wow, I'm really good at regular blogging (not).  31 March 2012 I became an Impi Warrior... I did this by completing a 12 km obstacle course challenge, crawling under obstacles, through tunnels, over obstacles (did I mention my fear of heights?), swimming through rivers, squishing through mud and more mud.

That morning I was driven to the event feeling a bit like a lamb being led to the slaughter.  I had tried exactly one trail run (first ever) 2 weeks previously and had planted myself in the ground on the trail, leaving me with a very sore knee and elbow.  I was seriously worried about this event. I am known for falling over my own two feet.  I had tried a few times the week before to chicken out of the event, but alas, no one would sympathise with my tales of me not being fit enough and instead I was encouraged to just do it... Yeah, easy for you to say I thought...my insides quivering at the thought of the heights my body and mind would need to endure.

The first obstacle was a freezing cold river of water that we had to wade through, initiating us into this crazy event.  The rest of the race passed by in a haze...we proceeded on over cargo nets, crawled through tunnels, leopard crawled under logs, climbed up and down ravines, crossed rivers over single beams, cargo nets, ropes, swam and jumped from heights I'd rather not recall, crawled through mudpits that smelled of dung, climbed over walls that you would never get over without the assistance of teammates ...  Oh and we ran in between all the obstacles too.

Then about halfway through the event I realised how much fun I was having.  I was having such a great time getting down and dirty I almost forgot about the heights that I knew I'd have to face (getting high and dry?!)...  Alas... at the 10m high obstacle climb there was a queue of people waiting to up and over...which was absolutely detrimental to my fear of heights.  The longer we stood there, my stomach churning, the longer my mind had to convince me that it really didn't have to conquer this fear.  It was my turn eventually.  Very gingerly I climbed up onto the first rung of the ladder, leading up to the cargo net.  With the help of my team members I made it up onto the cargo net... and just there my familiar fear completely took over and I could move no further.  I was causing a backlog of impi warriors at this stage... and my mind shut down and I had to admit defeat and get myself off the cargo nets.  Even though it was more scary (for anyone not suffering from this fear) to climb back down than it was to proceed forward, I easily wormed my way back down as fast as possible back to terra firma.  On the way down I passed a guy who was obviously having the same issue as I had and I gave him the courage to join me on the descent down...So I was not happy with myself.  I was pretty darn emotional about it because I'm really struggling to get over these fear issues in my life.  But this obstacle will have to wait... I'll do it yet!

Overall it was an absolutely terrific event, one that I will definitely do again!  The team work was just fantastic and we had our friends come out and support us which was just awesome!  Thanks to them, they were able to convince me to send myself barelling off a 6m high jump into the river below!!

What a day it was!  I learnt alot about myself, and I know the fear I felt at the 10m high obstacle is the same fear that I need to conquer in the other areas of my life, in order to move onward and upward!  Here's to next year!

Kelly Clarkson - Because Of You

Beautiful music video - I'm sure many can relate. Walking with herself as a little girl - so symbolic. Love the ending where she breaks the cycle.

Love after Love - Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.