From my trainer, a woman with the tenacity of a badger and the muscles of a ballerina, the kind of person who, upon hearing that you simply cannot go on, that you are about to hurl on your shoes, that please, can we just forget this whole thing and go gossip over donuts and coffee, purses her lips, hands you a towel, and says: "Don't care. Two more sets.":
"It's not the heaviness of the weight that matters most, but the intention with which you lift it."
In spite of the fact that I spend most of my time flipping her off behind her back, I have decided that these are wise words indeed and I just might want to adopt them as my mantra to get me through these next few months as I navigate the holidays, a full workload, and swat away doubts about the wisdom of signing up for my next trail race. (Which brings to mind another of my life's mottos: "Interesting, but stupid.")
So, what about you all? Has there ever been anything you've done for which you were totally ill-prepared but you just went ahead and did it anyway and surprise, surprise, no one died, sued you, or made you go home?
31 comments:
I got married.
I read Ayn Rand's "Anthem" when I was 9. And saved a 300 pound wildly-flailing woman from drowning when I was 13. The headline in the Weekly Paper started with "Brave but Stupid...
I didn't know she was that big when I dove in. The water was murky and I mistook her knees for her chest.
Note: The Fat-Woman incident occurred 6 years before I received lifeguard training.
The Camino.
@ Czar
hahaha!
@ Troll
but thas' why youse a Troll--brave but...not wise to human eyes. Troll's know best.
Czar: Most men would probably amen that.
Troll: Impressive. Swimming is hard; doing it while keeping presence of mind is even harder. As for Anthem, you then proceeded to ignore its anti-collectivist ethos or no? Me, I found it a handy rationale for breaking curfew.
Aunty: That is a most laudable feat. Most likely compelled in part, as many of these kinds of things are, by as much faith as physical prowess?
Turning 50.
and everything that came after that.
Troll's story is great and Czar's comment made me spit coffee out.
I read Anthem in 8th Grade when everyone else was reading Love Story. Don't know why I even had a copy of it. Don't remember anything about it except it was sort of a post-modern world existence. Might be time to go re-read it.
Re your question. Theonly thing that springs to my mind is having to handle some estate issues despite certain people wanting things done opposite to the way the will was written. But I don't think I can count it because I did end up in court over it. (My side won, of course.)
Admire your ability to stick with a trainer. I think life is too short to pay someone to make me that miserable.
@Moi,
"Using it to break curfew" is classicly Moi. I'm pretty sure I understood it was deeper than a typical Encyclopaedia Brown mystery.
yes. became a mother. He's survived nearly 18 weeks, so I figure something is going right.
I need your trainer. Seriously. I need my pre-mommy pants to fit right again. While I can get them up and buttoned, they just aren't quite right. yet. I need 2 more sets.
2 more sets, 5000 times. Sigh.
Did you get your bag yet?
Boxer: I admire your ability not to go screaming into the hills on your 50th birthday. And to look 20 years younger than you actually are.
Pam: I'm too scared to fire my trainer. She's like the mob. Once you work with her, it's for life. Or else.
Troll: I had a hard time accepting the will and the sanction of my parents, and they had a hard time not regretting giving me a mandatory reading list to finish before the end of high school.
Hola Kym!: The bag and case arrived just today and I love them both! The bag will be perfect for long offsite runs. And the case will keep me from ordering a chocolate martini when what I wanted was chocolate MOUSSE. I highly recommend a trainer. I think it's nearly impossible to achieve the same results on one's own—or maybe it's just me. I'm lazy.
I thoght more about your question and I have a different answer....
come see my post. ;-)
No i need a trainer bad -real bad. like the prison warden from "seven beauties" harsh. my damn the torpedos? art. not having a job job and stepping off in faith all the time that "something" will turn up. and it has - i have lots of work here in chickoryville - all of it I created from sheer will. course, you operate in the same way. If I didnt walk up the mountain everyday I would need a crane to remove me from the cabin. grrherhahaha
oh and I forgot. Im going to walk the appalachian trail next year. and camp. no hotels. next year a short run. 2013? longer trek. at least to Virginia.
Chickory: I don't think we could have chosen two more difficult things to do for a living. Kudos to you for making it work.
As much as I bitch at my trainer, I can't get the results I need on my own. Just can't. If I had the time and the money, I'd see this gal 2-3 times a week. So I have to really push myself the other two days. On the running, too. Intention, intention, intention.
The Appalachian Trail has long been a dream of mine. And I HATE to camp; just hate it. So I'm going to have to practice hiking 10-20 miles a day with a Tempurpedic in my pack :o)
listen, if you come walk the AT with me we'll stay in hotels. i am serious. its the walking that counts.
Chickory: Noooooooo. One does not walk the AP and stay in hotels. One gets the hell over oneself :o) Seriously, the only way to have that experience is to camp.
My Dad walked part of the AT in 1990 with a friend. He was gone about a month? He loved it. Oddly, after our convo the other day, I received mail for him (it still comes to my house) from the AT Association.
I'm in for 2013 - probably would wnat the hotels. :-)
how about every three days or so we get in a hotel for a nice hot shower and some food? This IS going to happen. I am doing springer mountain to NC this early spring. 3 days i think. just to see.
I can dig that plan.
Yep,
I once tried to culturally morph into a Spaniard. Later in life, I rashly set foot on St. Honore.
@Moi and Chickory: We're about half an hour from Damascus, VA. Big AT town. I can offer pickup and delivery service to/from Chez Czar for a night's lodging.
Are the two of you going to try to pass yourselves off as hippie chicks for the occasion?
Fishy: I been spending the whole day singing a song in my head: "Fishy once had a beau/named Patricio" And: "Ain't no better address in this world/than 24 Faubourg Saint-Honore." But as Karl would say, probably can't dance to it.
Czar Coolio! Ixnay to the ippiechicksay. Say it with me now: tech fleece, not tie-dye. And I will most likely be armed.
Wow Moi! You picked up on the Patricio vibe like a heat seeker. That Spaniard purely loved to make up jingles, adding verses as the days activites progressed. Did I mention he was also a linguist (8 languages),
grew up ranching and when I met him had been discharged from the United States Marine Corps for less then 24 hours? It really is a miracle I survived my twenties. And Hermes.
Oh.
forgot to mention ... take a peek at the 100 mile long Foothills National Recreational Trail or others listed for the Sumter National Forest. I've done a segment of this ....very beautiful but parts are rated as extreme challenge of dangerous. I did not do any rated above medium and I prayed. A lot.
Fishy: We need, NEED to hear that story. And I will Google Foothills National Rec Trail. Sounds like fun!
I'll bring the hippie.
Hey, Czar! That is awesome!! Thank you.
uh, Moi. you might change your mind about hiking with me after reading my latest post. grrrhahahaha
and hey. wouldnt "the fat-woman incident" amke a great band name?
@Chick: No problem. I still haven't forgotten you said you'd do the Upper Gauley with me.
Chickory: I remember you taking us off trail and thinking, "She must know where she's going, right?" :o) Glad you're safe. And I bet Trout is snoozing away, too. Not sure The Fat Woman Incident name would pass the P.C. police, or that we wouldn't have to pay Troll some kind of royalty, but I dig it.
Czar: I knew there was a speed demon/extreme athlete in you somewhere.
I ran a 1/2 marathon once. The most I had run before that was perhaps a mile or 2.
I jumped off a very, very high cliff once into the New River .. I have a fear of heights.
Foam: Wow! Both of those are impressive. And scary, especially jumping off a high cliff. I would freeze to the spot.
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