Athletes Take the High Road

Dear Reader,

I think perhaps they’re a little crazy, these Ironman athletes. They swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and after all that, they run a marathon. And it might be called Ironman, but it’s iron men and iron women too. Maybe crazy, definitely impressive!

As I observed various aspects of the Ironman event here in The Woodlands last Saturday, I wondered about what inspires us humans to enter such challenges. I saw a couple of athletes being driven back in golf carts—they just couldn’t finish. It must have been frustrating and disheartening, but they’d already done so much! A 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and some portion of a marathon.

It occurred to me that I wouldn’t want to enter into this kind of challenge unless I though I had a chance of at least finishing. And I really can’t even wrap my head around wanting to do a shorter triathlon. But I realized that I don’t like to be a quitter. I’m stubborn. I want to push through and do what I set out to do.

Is it pride, or is it keeping my word to myself and others? Sometimes it’s one; sometimes it’s the other. Sometimes it’s a good thing, because I accomplish interesting things. Sometimes it’s not so good, because it can be more costly than it’s worth.

We can learn a lot from going outside our comfort zones. We can also learn a lot—as we do in Feldenkrais lessons—from staying well within the easy zones. Either way, it’s interesting and useful to learn more about ourselves.

I’ve learned that I’m a bit more competitive than I might appear, that I’m tenacious, and that I can’t help but teach. (If you happen to know her, you can ask Julie about that last bit.)

It’s almost the end of April. We’ve got one more Tuesday Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement class, and there are still a few more spaces in the Magical Felt Vessels workshop at the Jung Center of Houston, Saturday, April 30. No classes or private sessions during the first two weeks of May.

And for the record, I walked 8.61 miles today. Just sayin’. And those Iron Men and Women – they might be crazy, but they’re also amazing!