The Labyrinthine Way
Graham Greene’s extremely powerful and moving novel “The Power and the Glory” had the original working title, “The Labyrinthine Way:” A little known fact that has almost no bearing outside of the halls of academia and the booths of dark coffee houses in the Castro. While slightly obtuse and less lyrical than “The Power and the Glory,” I find the phrase an apt description of the concatenations that bring us to particular points in life.
And it has surely been a labyrinthine way that has brought me to my taper for the upcoming Ironman Coeur d’Alene. It’s really hard to believe, actually. The whole thing started when I told my wife that I’d like to do an Ironman sometime in the next 10 years. Her first response: “That’s very cool, just not this year, please!” And that’s how it all began.
I can’t recall the exact details of how I worked around this (short term memory loss secondary to training-related hypoxia), but my use-it-or-lose-it qualifying time for the Boston Marathon had a lot to do with it. I’ve always wanted to do Boston, and you get only two years to use your qualifying time to enter. I didn’t do 2004, so 2005 was my last chance, so I had to do it. After glancing at the calendar, it seemed logical to springboard that fitness from Boston into a full Ironman attempt. And my wife, as wonderful and athletic as she is, acquiesced and bought into it all. So it all began.
Along the way to this, my last big weekend of workouts before the event, I’ve worked around virulent household sicknesses, too many school vacations, tropical storms, extreme sleepiness, and an out-of-state move scheduled for two days after my race (which includes selling our house). And while this may not seem like much at face value, I found it quite challenging, especially in the face of the often quixotic quest for more and more hours in the pool, in the saddle, and on the run.
Not one to burn the candle at both ends, I can’t believe I’ve actually gotten to this point and stuck pretty much to my original training plan, and I’m excited to see if it’s enough when I toe the line June 26. Regardless of the outcome, the training alone has taught me a great deal: patience in the face of barriers, persistence in the face of inertia, and often most important, quadruple lattes in the face of sleepiness.
And it has surely been a labyrinthine way that has brought me to my taper for the upcoming Ironman Coeur d’Alene. It’s really hard to believe, actually. The whole thing started when I told my wife that I’d like to do an Ironman sometime in the next 10 years. Her first response: “That’s very cool, just not this year, please!” And that’s how it all began.
I can’t recall the exact details of how I worked around this (short term memory loss secondary to training-related hypoxia), but my use-it-or-lose-it qualifying time for the Boston Marathon had a lot to do with it. I’ve always wanted to do Boston, and you get only two years to use your qualifying time to enter. I didn’t do 2004, so 2005 was my last chance, so I had to do it. After glancing at the calendar, it seemed logical to springboard that fitness from Boston into a full Ironman attempt. And my wife, as wonderful and athletic as she is, acquiesced and bought into it all. So it all began.
Along the way to this, my last big weekend of workouts before the event, I’ve worked around virulent household sicknesses, too many school vacations, tropical storms, extreme sleepiness, and an out-of-state move scheduled for two days after my race (which includes selling our house). And while this may not seem like much at face value, I found it quite challenging, especially in the face of the often quixotic quest for more and more hours in the pool, in the saddle, and on the run.
Not one to burn the candle at both ends, I can’t believe I’ve actually gotten to this point and stuck pretty much to my original training plan, and I’m excited to see if it’s enough when I toe the line June 26. Regardless of the outcome, the training alone has taught me a great deal: patience in the face of barriers, persistence in the face of inertia, and often most important, quadruple lattes in the face of sleepiness.
posted by Hank at 10:02 PM
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