On January 8th I wrote a post entitled Let the Fun Begin. It was my first week into high intensity training. I was moving heavier weights and increasing both my run distance and speed. I was a man on a mission. How was I to know that one short week later my training would get a little off track. In the preceding posts, A Minor Setback — Not a Roadblock and Three Weeks from the Day, I chronicled what I was looking at as a setback in my training.
This morning something happened to change that way of thinking.
I was in the gym talking with a friend of mine. I had previously told him about my recent procedure and expressed how I was grateful nothing was wrong with my heart. He asked me how getting back into the grove was going and if I was still taking it easy. I told him good, but I conveyed to him that with the half-marathon a mere twelve weeks away and the strongman only three weeks later, I was feeling a bit unsettled about how I had lost over a month of training.
That is when I got the look.
There is one thing about weightlifting and weightlifters, when you complain, and I was, as much as I hate to admit it, complaining, to another lifter words never need be spoken. Weight training is unto itself about one thing; overcoming the pull of gravity on cold, unyielding iron. It is, every single workout, a challenge.
It is a challenge to embrace.
It is a challenge to welcome.
It is a challenge to overcome.
So when my old friend gave me that look, I realized I was complaining and simultaneously we uttered, “It is just a greater challenge!”
I didn’t have to do battle with cancer. I didn’t have to deal with a traumatic accident. I didn’t have anything really bad happen to me. I had a surgical procedure to check out my heart and it showed all was good. I am blessed.
So what? I lost a few weeks training.
So what? I lost some strength.
So what? I got a little soft.
I am healthy. I am still relatively fit. I now have a greater challenge.
Life is fun.
Life is not fair.
Life is a challenge.
Bring it on!
Keep training and remember: being fit isn’t simply about living longer, it is about living better!
Joe, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading your blog. They always make me want to run to my weights and do a workout…even if I’ve already worked out today! Thanks!
Keep up the good work, youn look great
Charlotte
Very uplifting and inspiring article! I have been through both a traumatic injury (bicycle crash that shattered my hip, requiring 2 surgeries, the final one being a total hip replacement) and a recent illness that requires hospitalization – I could relate to all you said here! Thanks for the good words!
Dr. Joe, you are absolutely correct, it shows that you’re an authority on the subject. I admire someone that takes the pride you have and with your projecton of information. oSo when i actually do sit down to read material, I appreciate well written and organized blogs like this one. I have it bookmarked and will be back. Thanks.