Why do something that hurts

So here I sit, sipping hot chocolate, after a very enjoyable last 26 hours.  In these last twenty six hours I went out to a karaoke bar with some friends, slept in a bit, took the majority of the day to catch up on little housework things like doing laundry, started building a new bookshelf, and spent several hours hanging out with my dad.  I had a wonderful conversation and I am now sitting here typing as I enjoy a mug of hot chocolate. 

By this time tomorrow I will have ground my way through an hour workout on the bike trainer, slung myself around the corners of a track at a six minute mile pace, and pounded out numerous sets of squats at 275 lbs.  In short, it’s going to hurt.  So why do it?

Athletics parallels life, and lessons learned from one can apply to the other.  Too often we are bogged down in life, going from one necessary task to another, to really learn anything from them.  The alarm clock rings, we dress, eat, brush our teeth, take a shower, maybe we get the kids ready for the school bus.  We work, take lunch, usually we fight the same crowd every day, and then we work some more.  We come home from work, take care of ourselves and possibly spouses and children, or we come home from school just to start on homework.  We eat, get ready for bed, and wake up the next day to do it all over again.  Rarely do any of us take the time to look back and learn something about ourselves from these experiences.  Rarely do we seek to improve.  Rarely do we feel it matters.

When you lace up your shoes to run, or pull on your helmet for a ride, or snap your goggles into place before your first lap, you take the first step into a different state of mind.  If you are pushing your body, in whatever manner, you are doing it because you have already decided that something matters.  Do you learn to run, then bike and swim, because you are a father who cares about his son like Dick and Rick Hoyt?  Did you realize that you had not gone for a walk with your spouse in years because that extra weight takes your breath away?  Do you want to open the door for others?  Is it for a healthier, happier tomorrow?  Is it now or never?

Whatever your reason, it matters enough that you are working, pushing yourself for it.  You finish a lap on the track and look at your watch; 2:34? 2:03? 1:35?  You dig deeper and give a little more of yourself because it matters.  You give and you get in return; in nothing else but sport do you have such complete control of your accomplishments. 

Then your day comes, and you might begin to wonder if you are ready.  Long ago you made two choices that have decided your fate.  First, you chose to make this sport matter.  Then, what is so special, is that you then truly acted like it mattered each and every day.  When you cross that finish line with a sense of pride, you hold your finisher’s medal and say to yourself “This is how strong I am, I can do anything, when it matters.”

You return to your daily life, you close that big deal at work and get this big smile on your face when your co-worker asks “So what if I wanted to try one of these triathlons?”  There seems to be a little more time in the day, maybe you get together with your friends and really laugh, you take the person you care about out for a date, or you pick your kid up from school.  Suddenly your daily routine begins to take on a purpose, you move through life with poise and determination; you remember that you cared.  Then you realize that you only glimpsed your potential, and that you really can do anything.  When you let it matter. 

See you tomorrow.