Wisely

Day 9 of training:
Group rides: 2
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 2
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1


I took it a little easier these past couple of days, skipping my weight room sessions and sleeping in this morning, in favor of a light noon-time ride along the hilly loops inside the park near my house. I had planned to hit the gym after work for some lifting, but by end of day a fatigue had descended on me like you wouldn't believe. I feared the looming TPB, so I went home and had dinner instead.

Was it always this difficult? I remember days in high school when I was tired from all-nighters or tough track practices. I remember barely being able to walk up and down stairs my freshman year of college, my calves were so sore, but it seemed easier then.

"Is it that we are busier now with work, older, or simply less motivated?" I recently asked a high school friend. "Did we really do so much more back then, or does it just seem like we did looking back."

"We did more." He assured me. "We kicked butt back then. We were motivated."

His theory is that we had goals at that time-- concrete goals-- and I'm inclined to agree. Now, I'm not saying that we don't have hopes and dreams and goals now, but do they compare with the simple parental directive to get into a good college? Do we have anything as drilled into our heads today as the message back then that we must excel in school, that we must do all we can because the rest of our lives depend on it?

Look, if we work our asses off until we're burnt our bosses will probably notice and appreciate it. We'll probably get a good performance review and maybe even a raise or promotion. These are all good things, but as it's been pointed out to me by my boss-- why burn yourself out? You do what you need to do to meet the company goals and you live you're life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I slack. I'm not even saying that I don't try to go above and beyond, I'm just saying that I don't do it to the ridiculous levels that I did when I was 16. Five hours of homework a night? Can you imagine? Someone get me a beer.

Hey, I work hard, but it's not like we're curing cancer over here. Say, speaking of, you know who is? The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please donate now:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy