Yes, I do crawl over the top of this in full view of my neighbours….
“Move it, move it!” I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas (Fergie)
OK. I have now fully recovered from whatever that virus was that knocked me flat earlier in the week and I am back to training as usual.
Today’s Training: Bike-Run-Obstacles-Run-Obstacles (45 minutes)
That’s the short story. I figure that puts me just over the haystacks on the real Warrior Dash course. Not far enough yet, but perhaps far enough that I won’t actually collapse on Race Day.
While I was high-stepping through the 133rd tire today, it occurred to me that the goal alone is not sufficient reason to undertake training like this. Part of the reward of training is training for its own sake. Each step, each laboured breath, each stumble face-first into the pine needles has its own reward, its own revelation. Huh, I feel better today. I can go a little farther without feeling like, you know, I’ve been hit with a bag of wet cement. Or, wow, now I know what bird makes that high-pitched whistle. Or you come up with a new perspective on a problem that has been dogging you. Sure, the goal is a compelling motivator, even when it is modest, as mine is: don’t hurt yourself doing this crazy race, you silly fool. But the goal isn’t enough. Just ask anyone who has tried to get in shape, and didn’t, or tried to write that novel, and gave up after page fifteen. If you can’t find rewards in the hard work itself, you are probably done for. Writing is like that. Pursuing a university degree is like that. Raising kids. Sometimes it is just what you gain in a moment, what you learn, in the midst of the mud, the pain, the path. People say that… it’s about the journey, not the destination or some such. Well, I agree. Even if you do wander off on day T-15.