Road to Warrior – An ellephysio teammate’s experience

I just had to share the following blog by one of our patients, fellow X-elle-erate teammate and friend, Carrie. Here Carrie shares her experience on her Road to Warrior. How she was inspired to join our team and overcame her fears and anxieties to do something she never thought she could. I couldn’t be more proud of Carrie and I’m especially honoured to have played a part in her experience. She is a true example of ellephysio’s philosophy of confidence from within.  Enjoy her story!

My Road To Warrior was paved with sweat, tears (happy ones) a healthy amount of anxiety and pure determination. There was also laughter, lots and lots of laughter. How does a self-proclaimed exercise avoider, who suffers from germophobia, and avoids water at all costs, end up competing in a 5km mud/obstacle race???

Tough Mudder – Mudders from elle

It all started on a cold, wet day in May. I drove into Barrie to watch my sister-in-law Lynnette and her ellephysio team, The Mudders From Elle, compete in Tough Mudder. We had to wait in long lines to catch the damp school buses that were the only permitted form of transportation to the location. We had to trek up ski hills, through muddy terrain, stand in the snow, deal with the freezing winds and entertain the sick, bored children for 4 hours. I was miserable….that is until I saw past the minor inconviences that I was so used to whining about, and observed Lynnette and her team. They ran 16k in one of the most difficult military style obstacles races, on one of the coldest days in May and they did it smiling! They didn’t complain about the muddy toilet seats and lack of hand wash stations. They didn’t complain about their cold hands or runny noses, they ran and smiled and cheered each other on. They physically and emotionally pushed each other through that race and it was beyond inspiring to watch it. When it was all over, they got their Tough Mudder headbands and free beer. I got a Dairy Queen Blizzard (don’t ask me why I was craving ice-cream after freezing out there), and a boat load of desire to follow in their footsteps…although maybe not until after they hosed and dried off.

Kylie Jade Millman – April 2 – April 28, 2009

My opportunity came when my sister-in-law Lynnette asked me to participate in July’s Warrior Dash with her. I laughed and sat down to eat a handful of Skittles and paint my toe nails. A few days later though my curiousity got the best of me and I looked up the race on the internet. Right there on the Warrior Dash page screamed the sign that told me I was meant to do this race. Warrior Dash had partnered with SickKids Foundation and participants could fundraise. This was my chance to push past my anxieties, deciding that fundraising for Sick Kids in memory of my beloved niece Kylie Butterfly was more important than my fears. Once I signed up there was no going back…but going forward was no picnic either. Did I mention I don’t like to sweat, mess up my hair or get dirty?

First things first, if I was going to be jumping around I was going to need a good sports bra to ensure everything stayed where it was supposed to stay and I didn’t knock myself out with certain appendages. I dragged my girlfriend out to the mall and she got me suited-up. I bought a pair of pink running shoes (I didn’t think my Vans or Sketchers were going to cut it). I located my long lost MP3 player with pink earbuds and I started to run (actually I would have called it more of a “wog” walk/jog). Running was a reminder to me why I have always believed that exercise was bad for my health….I got lost a few times (who gets lost in their own neighbourhood…I do!). I swallowed a bug (damn thing flew right down my throat). I got hit by a cyclist (who yelled at me to go right and I might have went left instead.) I got mobbed by a gaggle of geese (they blocked the sidewalk forcing me down a ravine and it felt like The Walking Dead only with geese instead of zombies). I kept running though. I eventually added the small hills infront of the Firehall. I figured if I passed out I was close to First Responders, and who wouldn’t want to be revived by a Fireman? I also added in stair running, median hopping and skip rope.

Carrie bouldering at the climbing gym

My cardio was improving but my upper body strength was still lacking. A membership at The Climbers Rock would fix that. Multiple times a week I would meet up with Lynnette and Karen, my unofficial but exceptional coaches, and we would boulder, high rope and belay. The first few times I was so sore I couldn’t turn door knobs, drive (I literally used my knee to steer and manage the signal) or use my tweezers (the fear of having bushy eyebrows alone, could have had me quitting this adventure). I had to get over the perpetual camel toe from the harness, chalky hair and clothes, and the horror of all horrors…rental shoes! Weekly Pilates classes and the dreaded Boot Camp at Bronte Provincial Park, rounded out the 2 months of physical training on the Road to Warrior. Each week I’d have new bruises, blisters, calluses and scrapes but I also had new muscles and greater ambition!

I’m not going to lie…on the days leading into The Dash my anxieties were trying to run their own race. I was afraid I was going to get car sick on the drive up. I was afraid I was going to fail the water related obstacles (something I wasn’t really able to practice). I was afraid my pants might fall off me after getting stuck in the mud (it took me hours to decide what underwear to wear just in case this happened). I was afraid of having to use those damn port-a-potties again. I was afraid I was going to get swept away by the tornado (bad weather two days before the race). I was afraid of my own shadow (I may have been watching too many episodes of The Walking Dead).

Eventually the day before the race arrived. As recommended I carb-loaded and hydrated. This was almost more difficult then the physical training. For a girl who survives off of sugar and vegetables, having to eat carbs with protein every 2hrs was not as fun as it sounds. I was pretty much full just 4hrs after getting up in the morning, and I still had to eat 6 more meals! And who can possibly be productive while drinking that much water? I had to stop to pee more then I had to stop to eat, and that’s a lot of stopping…especially for a germaphobe who avoids public restrooms at all costs!

Team X-elle-erate greeted in style by the OPP

Sunday morning I awoke to a phone call from a real life Hero who reminded me that courage comes in all shapes and sizes and that I would be fine by just putting one foot in front of the other. I also got many other encouraging emails, texts and bbms from my supporters. Thanks to a good friend at the Ontario Provincial Police, ellephysio’s Team X-elle-erate had on-site parking and a warm welcome as we drove through the gates of Horseshoe Valley. Next stop was to drop off our fundraising at the Sick-Kids tent. With the support of very generous friends, family and colleagues I raised over $1,300, and as a team we raised over $2,600. After putting in the donations, mom placed a Butterfly sticker on our race bibs and I felt Kylie’s sprit. A quick kiss from my nephew and a wave to my brother and mom, and I was ready to go. I was nervous but I was no longer afraid. For the next hour or so we ran up and down multiple ski hills, ran & climbed up walls, balanced on beams over water, crawled in trenches and under barbwire, trudged through dirty water, mud and horse poop and leaped over fire. There may have been a few more hills in there too! Each obstacle made me feel stronger, but each hill reminded me that this was an endurance race. On my own I may not have succeeded, but with my team made up of two people who coached, coaxed and cared enough to want to see me succeed, I not only crossed that Finish Line but I did it smiling and cheering my team on, just as I had been inspired by my sister-in-law doing 2 short months before.

Carrie – a true Warrior Princess!

My Road To Warrior has been undeniably one of the best and most emotional experiences Ive had in my lifetime. Not because I got a medal, free beer (and a Beaver Tail – yum yum) at the end, but because competing in Warrior Dash was one of the best things I’ve done for myself! It demonstrated yet again how generous my friends and family are, it brought me closer to my sister-in-law and it made me feel like a butterfly…spreading my wings and reaching new heights!

I am a Princess but now I am also a Warrior!

Thank you to everyone who helped me along the Road To Warrior. You know who you are and I love you all for it!