My run felt good this morning. Correct that...My run felt GREAT this morning!! It's incredible what a few days in a row of physical work can do for a persons demeanor and fitness. That being said, it's also worthy to point out that I'm not getting any younger. A good number of my closest friends are a few years my senior, and I've listened to them lament the aches and pains of aging and the fact that the body doesn't respond to workouts or recovery as once it had. The past two mornings have been good at providing me that humility. There was a time, in the not too distant past mind you, where I could go on a forty or fifty mile ride, not stretch afterwards, grab a couple of beers with friends that evening, and be up the next day to do it all again...if not surpass my previous days effort. Saturday I ran, worked, rode my bike, caught a hockey game and some beers with a few friends. Sunday morning, it felt as though my body had been beaten by a handful of gnomes with tiny little bats in my sleep...I still climbed that day.
Climbing on real rock felt good, though a bit nerve wracking at the same time. Being 80 feet off the earth's floor, tied into a half inch piece of polyester/nylon while your belayer asks you to look up and hold still while he snaps off two or three pictures. This can be a bit disconcerting from time to time. To celebrate our accomplishments, Tim and I enjoyed taco's at Lau'aus and a few cans of PBR while we re-hashed the days events. The pictures turned out fuzzy for those wondering, and waking up this morning brought new levels of pain to my body. Fingers that wouldn't cooperate fully when asked to open and close and knots the size of racquetballs line my shoulder blades...I still ran today.
So, back to the reference of "that guy." Once my legs, and subsequently lungs, had to chance to catch up to what my will was putting them through, I felt invincible! It was after a quick section of downhill in Ute Valley Park that my mind started racing. I want to become "that guy." You all know the person I'm referring to. The guy in the corner, minding his own who you feel knows a little too much about the events unfolding. The guy who has the perfect job, the perfect companion and the best dog and seemingly has his shit in order. The guy who gives you the shirt off his back and asks nothing in return. The guy who never complains, about anything. The guy who runs with you, encouraging you up the hill that kicks your ass every time, then drops you like a sack of flour at the top of the pitch. I want to be "that guy" is what my mind was thinking. By this time in the run, my body had switched from feel good sensations into those of writhing in agony, snot dripping from both nostrils and a breathe so labored that I've seen cows on the farm get put down for less.
So at this point, you're probably wondering, "how does that constitute as a 'great' run?". The run this morning proved to me that I still have a ways to go. I complain when things don't work out just so, rather than adjusting my actions to compensate. I'm still searching for that perfect companion, which may in-fact, be the problem in and of itself. And my shit...my shit is anything but in order right now! I'm working on it though. Slowly but surely.
I feel the need to elaborate on my previous post.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite comfortable with who I am as an individual. I feel no need to change the fundamental design of who I am. What I'm interested in becoming is a better person overall. Everyone has their flaws and that helps differentiate them from everyone else, thus contributing to the unique nature of the human race. If you're not continually seeking to improve yourself as an individual however, you're allowing yourself to slowly disappear into the crowd.
For some, what I've described above may not seem all that bad. To saunter through life, marching to the beat of the crowd's drum. For me, this isn't an option, I need more.