More Pain please

"One of the great lessons of suffering may seem paradoxical: you must be kind to yourself." Marshall Ulrich

"Now you can do anything." Chris Kostman

"This can't be happening to me." DABS from C. Kuber-Ross

Great New York Times article: “Exertion pain comes down to three words: ‘Suck it up.’

"Although humans no longer need to run, the capacity and proclivity to run marathons is the modern manifestation of a uniquely human trait that help make humans the way we are." From Harvard research.

Two questions today as we prepare for the big bang 4th of July weekend. These are addendums from yesterdays post, dealing with, again, the whys of our what.

Question One: Is it necessary to 'come to grips' with pain if we aspire to growth, improvement or 'victory'?

Question Two: If I answer no to the above, should I just go play Angry Birds or Farmville?

Dealing with the associated pain and suffering of athletic competition is a skill that we can refine and improve. Sometimes dramatically. I am in the camp that thrives on the challenge of getting better. Sometimes that means faster, sometimes it means stronger, sometimes longer. The how we do it is directly tied to the why we do it. Dissect this: We train to get faster to achieve racing goals and understand that to do so requires the inclusion of pain as a crucial component. Agreed?

It needs to hurt. That is where the growth is. And that is where the paradox lies. Because you must heal the hurt and rest the pest in order to allow subsequent physiological gain. You must be good to yourself after the carnage. It's a love-hate relationship*. The correct response to the suffering dose is in rest and recovery.

I saw a quote yesterday suggesting that, in Ironman racing, fitness trumps nutrition. And speed, and strength and stamina. Your overall fitness, including the ability to deal with the pain and suffering of training and racing hard, is the most important 'goal' we can have. And to have optimal fitness we need to 'come to grips' with high-intensity training.

The next time somebody asks you what your maximum heart rate is, ask them to check back in a couple of hours because you need to go and re-test. Get to max. Hold it. Stay there. Embrace the burn. Experience the intensity. Accept the sensations as the only way to transcend. The name of the game is pain. Deal with it and prosper.

Or go play Farmville.

One important and closing note, please: Pain and suffering is not injury. That is something altogether different. But you knew that.

*Which can be converted to love-love with the application of acceptance.

Pic: Pro gals at the Venice Beach, LA Tri swim start (oddly coincidental today) about to deal with waves, wind, wattage, whatever.....