I had the opportunity over the course of the last few days to get in some R&R. We were fortunate to get in a successful shoot of the upcoming Ironman Lake Tahoe bike course on Wednesday, leaving supplemental photo work on Thursday and a late departure on Friday. Due to the initial success of our new product development outline strategy I decided to get outta town early and get to work on the video and beta version. That is being done as we communicate.
My rest and recovery, relaxation and rehabilitation, took the form of working at nothing. Keeping the urge to run suppressed, just saying no. I needed the time to heal up and allow a few nagging overuse injuries to re-build. This is difficult for me. I like to move. I like the physical feeling of muscular soreness, it feels like success to me. And after last Saturday's 70.3 I was a little run down, road weary and perhaps even suffering from low-grade DOMS, delayed onset of muscular soreness. Simply put, I needed a break.
So I went to the ballpark, watched some baseball, shot the climb to Mt. Rose from Incline Village, and went to see a matinee of the latest Batman movie, the third and final installment from Christopher Nolan in the Caped Crusader Trilogy.
I will spare you a traditional movie review as there are others who can transpose film to print much better than I, BUT, there are a few elements that were, perhaps, important to us (athletes) more than the GP, general population. I say 'perhaps' because the elements are universal, we simply find more ways to employ and execute their principals. We put them into play. We do. Here are a few examples, sans spoilers:
When we fist see The Batman he is retired. Hurt, crippled, morose. He has been beat up by bad guys and betrayed by the woman he loved. It hurts to watch. This is NOT the way Batman got to be a hero, let alone a SUPER hero. You want to slap him around, rattle the batcage, and snap him from the funk. Demand that he stop feeling sorry for himself and get out there and back in the game. Even Alfred tries his best. It is a favorite trick of Hollywood. It is called the moment of truth. The moment one decides to act. When we train, when we race and when we live fully, we get to make the same choice. Art imitates life. This is our story as much as an eccentric millionaire with BW embroidered on his batrobe.
Act. Go. Do. You are the hero in this sequel. You can be super. Make it so.
Gotham is under siege by a bully known as Bane. He is a combination of Hannibal Lector, Darth Vader and Goliath. He is big, bad, mean and smart. He kicks the stuffing out of Batman the first time they meet. Bane breaks Batman's back and exiles him to an inescapable hell of a prison while he executes a plan to take over Gotham City. In prison Batman meets a sage and a savior. Hello Yoda. He embarks on the journey back. He wants a rematch. It is the only way to save the city he loves and the entire population therein. Moment of Truth II. (Hollywood can do this). He knows that the next time he meets Bane it will be a battle to the death with the fate of the city and 7 million people riding on the outcome. We call it courage under fire. You had better be prepared. There will be blood. You must embody and embrace a no fear policy and accept the reality of death. This is the critical point. You have nothing to lose. Give it all or you lose all.
Stay in focus. Charge. Summon your soul. NEVER give in. Attack. Be tenacious. You are not alone in this fight.
Lastly, the war on the streets is about to begin. The mercenaries have the police unmanned, outgunned and out positioned. You can see fear in the eyes of Gotham's finest as they prepare to meet their bloody demise. Suddenly from above, the Bat, a turbo charged, carbon fiber, jet propelled, super helio SWAT copter, piloted by The Batman himself, does a low-level flyover and the Boys in Blue cheer and then rally as the posse has arrived in the nick of time. They charge into the face of certain death, sure of their cause and with renewed vigor and purpose. The mere presence of our caped hero has empowered a thousand police officers wielding only service revolvers to attack the oppressors holding cannons, assault rifles and tanks.
Courage. Purpose. Teamwork. Never give up. Regardless of the odds, do your best.
Batman saves the day, gets the girl and retires to Venice. But not before putting the essential elements of success, valor, integrity and wisdom on display.
Further setting the stage, Robin shows up, The Boy Wonder, ready for his day in the sun.
We all get one. Be your own hero. Be super. There is a day to fight and a day for R&R.
Ask The Batman.
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