Hard Training
Many years ago I remember a house guest going out for a morning run and I wondered why on earth someone would do that. It seemed such a ridiculous activity.
For the last 24 years, almost without fail, I have either run or swam (squad swimming in an Olympic pool) every morning of the week, 365 days of the year.
I learned a long time ago that if I didn’t train first thing, then it would not happen. I also learned that my day was absolutely better for the training. It brought me alive, I like the feeling of a strong body, and it has been a foundation for everything that I value in my life.
I no longer argue with a desire to feel good by doing the work.
Not every session is hard, but it matters that within most sessions there is some up-tempo work.
Our bodies and minds need to be stretched and challenged. We need to feel the burn, the ache, and the sweat effort.
It helps of course that our hormone system flushes with endorphins when we do the hard training. The natural happy drug is quite addictive.
I have a theory that the moment we stop the hard training of mind, body and spirit, the moment we relax into softness and lazy, is the moment we say yes to becoming old. Our biological age is irrelevant.
January 2nd 2019
Photo taken January 2nd 2019
