Teaching Mom Power
July 6th, 2010 by Chris, Legal Department, Sunnyvale office
I think it’s really important for moms of girls to show them how powerful their moms are. I try my best to do this in a variety of ways: working outside the home, volunteering for the kids’ sporting activities (i.e. team mom) and giving back to our community. But I also think it’s important to show them that we moms are physically powerful too. I work hard to stay fit and am always out doing active things like boating, hiking, backpacking, etc. (Carrying all the things you need to survive in the woods on your own back gives you a truly amazing sense of power.)
But my latest physical endeavor had a different spin. It showed physical strength, commitment and just plain silliness. I recently joined forces with my daughter’s soccer coach to compete in a Muddy Buddy race.
I trained for 10 weeks in preparation for the 6.5-mile bike ride and running race through the mountains. Here’s how it works. Each team has only one bike. On the first leg of the race, one teammate runs while the other bikes. (On our course, the first 1.5 miles was straight up hill!) Then there’s a transition spot where you drop the bike and do an obstacle, like a rock wall. Your running partner comes up, does the rock wall and picks up the bike for the next leg. This continues through the whole race and, finally, you meet up to cross the last obstacle together: a mud pit!
My Muddy Buddy partner, Cindy, and I were planning this event for months. As the “Hot Muddy Mamas”, we were wearing shirts we had made, had stuffed pigs glued to our helmets and a stuffed pig tied to our bike’s handle bars. The festive costumes and spirit of the racers made this tough physical race—with lots of up-and-down hill portions and exhausting heat—worth the effort.
One of the best parts of the race: having our daughters at the finish line to cheer Cindy and me on as we slogged through the mud pit and crossed the finish line.
Now I can’t wait for them to turn 14 so that they can compete as a team. No doubt, they’ll leave us in the dust….or the mud!
July 6th, 2010 by Chris, Legal Department, Sunnyvale office
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