Would YOU?

There was a famous poll conducted a few years ago during race week in Kona. IIRC, it was worded something like this:

If there was a drug that would enable you to win Ironman, but wold cost you five years of life as a side effect, would you take it?

Do I need to tell you what the results of the poll were? 

Again, if I recall correctly, it wasn't even close. Maybe 95% answered the way you might expect a hyper Type A Triathlete to respond. Type A and Triathlete being a redundant. 

We have another opportunity to poll the audience today. The poll du jour is in regard to four-time Ironman world Champion Chrissie Wellington, who has announced her retirement from long course racing. Speculation has it that her training regimen, widely regarded as tough beyond belief, has caused physical damage to her system, compromising both health and performance. In a nutshell, GETTING TO those championships has taken its toll. 

She is 35 years old. She is as gracious a world champion as I have ever seen, widely renown for her courage, grace under fire and charismatic smile, even in the heat of competition. She has legs most Pro Men would sell their cars for. She is equally famous for her dedication to hard workouts, sessions that would kill most of us, simply made her stronger. .

For a while.

Begging another poll. 

Which I will word thusly:

Assuming that you were able to physically, emotionally and financially train and race at a Wellingtonian level (off the charts hard) and that training would propel you to four World Championships, but would end up causing irreparable cellular damage potentially compromising your health, would you?

I believe this is an interesting look at our motivation, and perhaps even more, a glimpse into our soul. That elixir created when we mix intense desire, competition, reward, effort, mission, meaning and moving doesn't always taste like cherry cola. 

We are starting to get some good data from those that have gone before us in this crazy world of endurance sports. We all recognize that to excel one must go further than one has in the past. We must go harder, give more, focus. We must look into the eye of the tiger and face our fears. 

We spoke this morning about the path. The process of going from pain to mirth. Of enjoying the ride and appreciating the journey. Nobody enjoys a hard effort more than I. I love racing primarily for that single reason; anything other than your absolute best is un-satisfactory. Or as we used to say in MWR, totally unsat. 

At what point all this breaks down and begins a nasty downward spiral into entropy is the question. 

The question du jour, today's poll:

Would you?

Pic: 2011, Chrissie at the turn in Hawi on her way to her 4th Kona win. She spent the preceding two days in a local hospital with a viral infection.