Confession: I'm Afraid to Get My Butt Kicked By a 'Soccer Mom'

My last blog post was about healthy snacks to give to toddlers and kids after school, and I said my next post was going to be giving tips about children eating healthy. However, after cruising Facebook this morning, I had to change topics briefly.

As you may or may not know, there's a new fitness craze going around, and that's "tough races" involving a certain distance (usually around a 5K) with various obstacles like climbing and running through mud.

This seems like a lot of fun, and as someone who's been active and an athlete the majority of his life, it's something I'd like to give a shot. However, my pride won't let me do it, and it isn't the first time I've sheepishly decided against a fitness competition.

About three years ago, I had the brilliant idea of trying to train for a "sprint" triathlon. I gave myself months to train, which I thought was plenty of time. I began to train by running and biking, the two easiest legs of the triathlon. Then, I tried swimming.

After attempting to swim for a few weeks, I gave up. Even though it had been years since I'd last swam, and I wasn't very good last time I tried it, I figured muscle memory would take over and I'd be able to survive.

The distance required for a sprint triathlon is 16 lengths in a pool. I could complete half of one before flailing around like a lame dog. The most embarrassing part was watching many men and women, 50 years older than me, effortlessly swimming lap after lap as I panted in the shallow section. Here I was, a 25-year-old in my physical prime, literally having people swim laps around me.

Fast forward to today. I can't do any of these "tough races" because I'm fairly certain about 1 mile in, I will be gasping for air, thinking abut quitting while "soccer moms" (and dads) effortlessly pass me.

The race I've been eyeing is in the end of September. Who knows, maybe I'll "man up" and train for it and give it a shot. I don't know if I can. Maybe this blog post is what I need to start training for the race and in a few months you'll see a post about me beginning to train.

I have no visions of winning the race, I'm a realist. But I DO have visions of getting my butt kicked by hundreds of soccer moms.

Matt Elder owns and operates i9 Sports, a youth sports league in Marlborough. Their flag football and cheerleading program is taking registrations for its spring season, and plays every Sunday afternoon, where they have a practice and a game all in the same day. No weekday practices. Visit www.i9sports.com today for more details.