"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
He never gave me a time frame. He never said any of it would be easy. Actually, he said, and continues to say very little. But when he does talk, well, its pretty damn powerful. Who am I referring to? My coach, Cody Burkhardt.
Since my last post, my season has continued its upward trend, winning the Zoom Duathlon Series in August, and nailing an overall win yesterday at the Deer Creek Festival of Races, in the most competitive field since Powerman Arizona. And the season isn't over, with 3 Powerman races left on the schedule, fall and early winter are going to be extremely busy.
Although the wins have felt good, 4 in a row, what has been more enlightening, more exciting, and has led to the wins, to better training, better health, has been chasing chasing rabbits, and slaying dragons. Don't fret, I haven't taken up playing Dungeons and Dragons, I'm using these phrases to explain what training, racing and life has become. And how it transcends sport.
In the world of fitness, we talk constantly of "fixing holes", finding weaknesses, then attacking them, cleaning them up. I've said it before, it's "slaying your dragon". But what does that mean? Is it simply physical? Or is it a combination of physical, mental and emotional, a complete dedication to our craft, no matter what that might be? I honestly thought I knew until I started to change the way I thought about fitness and health, not just training and racing. And I discovered that I, like Alice, had to be prepared to go down the rabbit hole, and continue to do so, to slay my dragons. Being prepared to live outside your comfort zone is one thing, but its more important to recognize that as you become more fearless, you are actually building new comfort zones. Which means, you must continue to jump outside those zones, create new ones, jump out of those, and so forth. Its a process, its not a set state. Its fluid, constantly evolving. To really and truly improve in anything, you have to take that leap, jump head first into the hole, and keep crawling, getting stronger with every step. So when you finally stare your dragon down, you are fully armed to take it down
See, that's the beauty of facing down your fears, your weaknesses. You dictate exactly how you will defeat them, or if you will let them loom large over you, a dark cloud that follows your every step. You can't wait for someone else to do it for you, and you can't expect things to simply resolve themselves. Life doesn't work that way. Its hard. Yes, life is hard. But its also beautiful, and the sun shines that much brighter when you commit fully to something you love, something that touches your soul, even in the darkest moments. The journey down the rabbit hole is going to be filled with distractions, with "short cuts", but truth is, its pretty cut and dry - it comes down to hard work. Period. Fully committed to improving, fully committed to removing one weakness, only to find another, another rabbit to chase.
Since June, I've discovered more flaws in my training, hell, more flaws in my health than I thought. And over the last 4 months, I've been extremely fortunate to have my coach guide me through the dark times, and into the light. Its gotten me to see how UNSCARED I really am, and how much further I have to go. Because just like life, there is no finish line. Yes, in racing, there's a finish line, but that is simply the start of another "race", chasing a new rabbit, finding a new dragon to slay. And that is no different than life. No matter what you are doing, you have a dragon. Its preventing you from realizing how much is inside you.
So, your options are simple - jump into the hole, or don't. I'm not here to tell you its easy. I'm not here to tell you its rainbows and unicorns. Not even close. It can get blacker than midnight, but brighter than the a spotlight. My recommendation - jump in. Even if it seems like you are going it alone. Odds are, through your journey, you'll discover others who will be right be your side. Strangers can become like family in this process. Even when it seems like you are the only one going through it, know, without question, there are others who are crawling, scraping, fighting, right along side you. Odds are, if you look close enough, you'll see me, smiling right back at you. As a coach, as a friend, that's my job, and its my honor.
Maybe being like Alice isn't such a bad thing after all. You decide.
Stay strong,
Guy
