As of late, high intensity workouts are my main entree. I’ve been wanting these efforts for a bit now but sometimes I feel I’ve bit off more than I can chew. I’ve never trained like this before and it’s plain hard – no getting around it – but that’s the thrill.
Generally my brain is “off” when I do these types of efforts but lately emotions have been spilling out in waves and it’s rather intense – I just have to sit in and ride them out. In the spaces between wanting to puke and ball my eyes out…mostly at night before I fall asleep and in the mornings upon wakening…I chew on the following bits of mind blabber…
life is a big adventure
failure is part of the process
learning is the counterpart to failure
There is no room for negativity
Pain is part of life – it’s ok to hurt
Greatness is hard (my sister told me this one day – she lives it)
Gratitude is the attitude
I can only control what I can control
That last thought is perhaps the most powerful for me in triathlon and on levels that transcend it….I can’t control who shows up at the race, I can’t control the genes I’ve inherited (though yes I can improve with them – actually want a good read? Check out The Sports Gene – Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance ) I can’t control the weather, nor can I control the actions and reactions of others…
All I can control are my choices, my actions, my reactions. I can choose to give it a half-hearted attempt or choose to give my best (whatever it may be at that given moment). I can choose to beat myself up about missing an interval or decide to let it roll of like water because there’s no room for negativity. I can choose to figure out failure – learn from it and move on. I can choose to be grateful for every day and opportunity… I think that’s part of the lure and love I have toward triathlon. It asks me everyday under stressful physical conditions to make the hard choices – it strengthens my soul. And it get’s to the point that Nike figured out long long ago, once you’ve made the choice enough – you just do it.
… speaking on choices – I had a medium effort section on a trainer ride this past Sunday and I like to use those times to catch up on really good podcasts concerning our choices as consumers, individuals, and interconnected beings….I found this one on my favorite site. If you’ve got a drive ahead of you, you’re cooking dinner, going on a low intensity ride, cleaning – if you’re doing something where your hands are busy and your ears are free or if you’ve the time to just sit, give it a listen.
Our choices matter.
Through My Eyes 