My Friends Are Awesome…and Why Sometimes that Sucks
My grown up job involves me working for a racing company. Like, not drive racing, like running racing. I’ve been an endurance athlete for a while now and have a big race coming up on Saturday. Here is the part of the story where I set you, the reader, up with all my excuses…
So I’ll bullet them for your reading convenience:
So, my friends, mostly athletes are amazing and blah, blah, blah. No bullshit. They are so cool. And they are humble and cool and just the best people on the planet. Funny, so funny and interesting. They run 120 miles at a time and break records doing it, they crush Double Ironman Events, set course records in 200 mile trail races, sign up for and finish things like Death Races and Epicman challenges. They run hundreds, thousands of training and racing miles. They swim, they climb, they cycle. They break Guiness World Records and have names like “Fittest Man on the Planet.” They blow my mind and it’s just bananas.
They send me emails like this: “My next goal is to try and get on the 2012 US National 24 hour Ultrarunning team. The qualifying standard is 135 miles. I am going to attempt this at the Badgerland 24 hour race in Milwaukee, WI September 3rd (Labor Day weekend). I was only able to run 125 miles there last year – but I think 145 miles is doable and that will be the goal to try and secure a spot on the team (there are only 6 spots). I currently have the 12 hour record at this race as well (78.78 miles from back in 2006).”
They go to the Lake Placid Ironman with almost NO training and kill the course in under 12 hours. What?
That shouldn’t be real. But it is.
I get invited to Facebook events called: "FOUR THOUSAND WAYS TO F**K UP A TEN MILE RUN" This Saturday! 400m + 25 pushups +25 situps + 25 squats + 25 burpees X 40 ... Thinking 10am EST (or do on your schedule and post time in comments). I think a BLISTERING pace would be 4 hours. Even 6 would be impressive. 10 hours may not be out of the question either.
It’s extraordinary and it’s a new normal in my life. I dig it.
Here’s why that sucks. My excuses above…well, they are just that. I have a lot of people around me that make it impossible to live with those excuses for very long. That may be what I love best about them.
Time to go for a run.
So I’ll bullet them for your reading convenience:
- I’ve been sick.
- I’ve not been training enough.
- I have had too much beer lately. (Travis, thank you for getting me the Lucky Bucket bucket and the 36 wings in my fridge. You’ve proven that people will give you almost if you just ask…like having food delivered from places that don’t deliver food.)
- I suck.
So, my friends, mostly athletes are amazing and blah, blah, blah. No bullshit. They are so cool. And they are humble and cool and just the best people on the planet. Funny, so funny and interesting. They run 120 miles at a time and break records doing it, they crush Double Ironman Events, set course records in 200 mile trail races, sign up for and finish things like Death Races and Epicman challenges. They run hundreds, thousands of training and racing miles. They swim, they climb, they cycle. They break Guiness World Records and have names like “Fittest Man on the Planet.” They blow my mind and it’s just bananas.
They send me emails like this: “My next goal is to try and get on the 2012 US National 24 hour Ultrarunning team. The qualifying standard is 135 miles. I am going to attempt this at the Badgerland 24 hour race in Milwaukee, WI September 3rd (Labor Day weekend). I was only able to run 125 miles there last year – but I think 145 miles is doable and that will be the goal to try and secure a spot on the team (there are only 6 spots). I currently have the 12 hour record at this race as well (78.78 miles from back in 2006).”
They go to the Lake Placid Ironman with almost NO training and kill the course in under 12 hours. What?
That shouldn’t be real. But it is.
I get invited to Facebook events called: "FOUR THOUSAND WAYS TO F**K UP A TEN MILE RUN" This Saturday! 400m + 25 pushups +25 situps + 25 squats + 25 burpees X 40 ... Thinking 10am EST (or do on your schedule and post time in comments). I think a BLISTERING pace would be 4 hours. Even 6 would be impressive. 10 hours may not be out of the question either.
It’s extraordinary and it’s a new normal in my life. I dig it.
Here’s why that sucks. My excuses above…well, they are just that. I have a lot of people around me that make it impossible to live with those excuses for very long. That may be what I love best about them.
Time to go for a run.
Ahaha, I love you. and your excuses
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