Friday, October 5, 2007

Austin bound, and other thoughts...

time to go to austin and get ready for the longhorn triathlon festival, especially the half ironman on sunday. i am excited for the weekend and the race. many houstonian tri-freaks will be enroute to the city of rock n' roll and hippies today. with the olympic and sprint distances tommorow, followed by the UT V. OU game and post race party, i can't wait to actually watch a triathlon and relax for a day!!

then, ill probably eat an entire pizza and get ready for sunday.

i was really sore in the beginning of the week from cinco, but i feel loose and rested now. the course is a hilly one, and there should be some great competition(especially being in austin), so it should be good.

recently in outside magazine, eight time world champion surfer, Kelly Slater said this regarding an all-encompassing life obsessed with competition,

"Being in that competitive head-space for so long - it can kind of take you away. If you get too consumed by it, you don't always care about people the way you should. It's kind of ironic, that what's driving you can also be the thing you need to heal"...

that pretty much describes most triathletes, especially ones (most of us) that this has become our lives. there is something easy about masticistically running yourself to the ground during a race, because its easier then dealing with ourselves. physical pain is almost freedom from a wandering mental race. im not a total nut job, but i'd rather spend 25 hours a week, figuratively and literally, running from things than putting my asics on the shelf and sitting with myself.

im not sure if this was dark or inciteful, but either way i believe most serious athletes can relate. if you think im crazy, take a couple days off from your regime, and see how life is without your training plan (or coping method). for me, ill choose the former, and lace up for another day. fueled by hammer gel, gatorade, powerbar, and something that can not be bought at vitamin world.

good luck to all the racers this weekend.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are a nut job-kelly

Jane said...

Physical pain is almost easier to deal with than emotional pain. But you can't always keep running.

You can get addicted to anything. In my book, addiction is anything that you do to avoid living real life or more often, experiencing real emotions.

However, as far as addictions go, Triathlon is far better than say, crack or fluffer girls.

Have a good race in Austin.

pinkgurugal said...

well at least you are in good company. :)

Anonymous said...

After reading your blog entry again, it impelled me to reflect about why I am infatuated with triathlons. I can say that you are not alone in your views. I can undoubtedly relate to what you wrote. I have used various methods to numb my thoughts and feelings. Nothing has changed except that my addictions are now legal. My life is filled with mania over training which feeds the abyss with as much as it needs to remain satiated. The time spent running or biking allows me to detach from my distorted feelings and my ego and recognize my true self-fearless, vital and boundless. If only I could transcend from the enslavement of distrust and self-loathing and live contently all the time. Triathlons in some way keeps me grounded so that the thoughts in my head don’t cause me to set off into a downward spiral of insanity. It is the one constant in my life that I know I can gain support from when I am on the edge wanting to leap off. Nevermind-I just do triathlons them b/c they are fun.