Enjoy the Sore

Last month, I completed BoldRDash, an obstacle course race.  Having wanted to complete one for some time, it was a nervewracking, yet exciting event.  While people who enter Beast and other extreme races didn’t consider BoldRDash a big deal, it was to me.  This race brought with it a variety of emotions, both high and low.

The first low came at the very beginning.  The owner of the gym where I work out said that he would stay behind with whoever needed support.  That person turned out to be me.  While I knew I wasn’t the strongest, I didn’t expect to be bringing up the rear.  I was able to complete all but one obstacle, climbing a rope; I just don’t have that upper body strength yet.  We wound up staying together as a team.  There were times I waited for people and there were times they waited for me.  I was really proud that I had set a goal, trained for it, and achieved it.

I walked on air for the following days.  One of the oddly fascinating moments came in the following days as various bruises showed up all over my body.  My stomach was covered in deep bruises, most likely from an obstacle called “Over, Under, and Through.”  Participants carried a buoy over, under, and through platforms over various heights.  I was tired by the end and just hurled myself over them rather than trying to climb them.  I was sore in places that usually aren’t sore.

This leads to my love affair with DOMS and soreness in general.  I’ve been doing muscle workouts for years and consider myself at least slightly stronger than average.  When I workout with weights, I love the soreness that follows a day or two later.  It reminds me that I have achieved something that I previously couldn’t do.  While my quads may not love running two days after deadlifting 195 pounds,  I remind myself that soreness equals change.