Austin Jailbreak 5K - New Paths

When my running partner forwarded me a link about the Austin Jailbreak 5K I knew I couldn't turn it down! The Austin Jailbreak is a 3.8 mile run with a total of 17 obstacles including (but not limited to) a gauntlet, water crossing, rock climb, police blockade (aka jumping over cars), a muddy crawl, and something called the "powdered donut" (which I was a little concerned about).

So...this past Saturday when my alarm clock went off in the 5 o'clock hour instead of a groan I excitedly pulling on my carefully laid out running gear like a student on the first day of class. Not quite knowing what to expect but looking forward to something new! After a ton of water, cup o' joe, and a banana, we anxiously waited for the gun to go off.

The run was one of the hardest I'd ever done - not because of the distance or the weather but because trail running is no joke! It takes a lot more energy and concentration - mentally, physically - to navigate over rocks and sticks on a totally new path than to navigate a well known sidewalk. We climbed bales of hay, jumped cars, ran over sand, water and mud, and army crawled through drainage pipes filled with gravel that cuts our knees...but we did it!!! It was great having people cheer us on and volunteers yelling, "you're at the front of the pack, keep it up!".

Isn't that just like life? It's easy to get comfortable in our routines, the same well-worn paths. And there is nothing wrong with consistency...as long as we're willing to try something new from time to time and stretch ourselves. We may get a little beat up along the way but the struggles will be well worth the growth and in the end we can say...we did it!!!