Kona or Bust

Coffee's ready, and my pre-lift meal is in front of me...time to get this day rolling.

Today I am going to write about an article I read in a Triathlon Magazine a while back that was written by Matt Fitzgerald called "Why are we so hell-bent on Reaching Kona?" Basically it attempts to answer the question; Why would someone train all year round making tons of sacrifices just to be able to go to Hawaii, pay their own way to get there, and then top everything off with a grueling 9-13 hours of swimming, biking, and running in deadly heat? Well...let's see. The article touches on many points that I really feel are dead on accurate (at least in regards to my own feelings.) Matt Fitzgerald first mentions that during an interview with a sociologist that this guy loves suffering, he even quotes him as saying "I'm really fascinated with suffering"..and this guy is a Phd from England..alright so he probably had stopped off at the pub for a few pints before the interview, but that's beside the fact. Anyway, I have to say that personally I love to suffer as well. This has been a personnel characteristic that I have had for as long as I can remember. I have never been the most naturally gifted in the classroom or on the athletic field, yet this has not stopped me from being one of the top students in my high-school/college classes, or excelling on the athletic fields. (You can determine what excelling on the athletic field is on your own, but in my mind I did pretty decent for a short white kid with normal genetics on the ball field and grid irons.) I was able to do well in school and in sports because I would put in the extra work when others were not. I would do all my homework in High School when everyone else put it aside. Why? Because I'm scared to fail. The worst feeling in the world is to show up for a test and have no clue whats going on..or as I am learning to show up to a race and feel like you don't belong...YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT YOUR ARE JUST AS FAST AS THE REST. This is pretty hard in a sport like Triathlon because everyone looks different...in running you can pretty much tell that the gazelle looking dude with the stick legs is going to tear it up..but in Triathlon who knows? You really have to just block it all out and know that once the gun goes off that your going to be in the hunt and no one is going to stop you! Back on track...Being unprepared to me is worse than an 8 hour bike ride up a hill with a steady gradient of 10% or something...poor example but you get the point. I'm getting side-tracked here but mainly what I wanted to say is that I enjoy suffering to, I enjoy the hard work of cycling further than I've ever gone, or running a 5k, 10 in my fastest time. This is what makes me happy and puts a smile on my face at night. If I don't feel any pain, any burning..then what good is it? (ok...as the "no pain, no gain" motto has been looked down upon of late some people are probably laughing at this statement but I think the fact is...if you don't push yourself your not going to get anywhere..and to push yourself your going to have to deal with the pain of going places you've never been...like 20mi from home on your own 2 legs instead of the 5k you usually do at a 30 minute pace) Personally, I want to know that I am constantly pushing myself. I want to know that I have the ability to suffer and to enjoy it...kinda sick but whatever...
So I guess I can just sum that all up and say that I like to suffer, I like to feel some pain. Some people just don't like to feel this, they want to always "be comfortable", and that's FINE! Believe me, they will probably be laughing at me when I am 60 and hobbling around with achy knees or scooting around in my electronic wheelchair that I got for free at the scooter store because the gov't felt sorry for my ass. Yet still I want the affirmation through my hard work that I am getting somewhere. I know that by working harder and suffering more than the next person that its going to give me an edge and more importantly make ME feel like I HAVE an edge. I would say that the "thinking' you have an edge part is the most important.

Another point brought up in this article is how along with the growth of the service industry in the 1970's so came the beginnings of Triathlon. It's not a coincidence that just as people were as Fitzgerald states, "being told to sit down, shut up, don't move all day, but to be happy with that" that they began to seek creative outlets. This type of mindset is bullshit in my opinion. I work in the service industry and I hate the mindset that is being brainwashed into new hires by sr management. I hate the way that so many people love to showboat how many hours they worked last week. To them I say "well good for you"...I'll even pat them on the back...ALL I ASK IS "please just let me out at a regular time".. so I can go ride my friggin bike before it gets dark so I don't get hit by a sleep deprived work-aholic who loves to crank out unpaid overtime hours. As you can see this is a bit of a sore subject. But anyways, I think the point that Fitzgerald was making is that so many of these work-aholics were former athletes. Which makes sense. These people have strong wills and desires..they have just channeled it into work...for me I don't see the point of working a billion hours of overtime when your not even getting paid to, I mean does that sound fair? Obviously when deadlines are set you may have to work more, but on a year-round basis, all the time...come on people! In Europe they only work like 3/4 of the year. They actually spend the rest of the time on family vacations, cycling tours, beach excursions, touring ancient ruins..ENHANCING THEIR LIVES! The US seriously needs to go back to its European roots in some regards. So..back to my point, these people end up 35 years old, overweight maybe? overworked definitely! and searching for something to rejuvenate them. Well thats when taking up a leisure activity comes into play. They take up tennis or golf, or if their nuts triathlon! This gives them a sense of identity...something they can hang their hat on...for me I totally GET this. I love knowing the fact when I am at work I can look at people and just be like "yeah..I am so much faster than them" or "I wonder what they did this morning, I've already covered 40 miles on my bike...they were probably snoring when I was grunting up Bopple Hill" sure its conceded and self-inflating, but it gets my on my bike in the morning (and don't say you've never done it..because you have, and if you haven't your not hardcore..lol, jk), its gets me out of my bed at 4:30 am...WE ALL NEED SOME TYPE OF MOTIVATION! Its not that I broadcast this or anything, its purely in my head..right where it belongs :)