Learning to Suffer (Page 3)

I've always wondered what it took for Billy Mills to kick in that last 100m, though the race up until then really wasn't a "jog" in the sense that some can be. 

Anyway, back to the topic - which is a good one.

Ha! I have almost doubled my mile running splits since I was in the army back in 93, that's good right? right?

Back then I could all out sprint 2 miles and have a gratuitous puke-fest when I was done for a 10:15sh time.

My first Squad leader was all army cross country team. I thought 12.5 mile Friday mornings at a 6:30-7 min pace made me a god amongst men.   The 8 Mile ruck runs ending with a couple reps of cherry hill on Ft Lewis was good times. 

I wish I knew about triathlons back then.

/cool story bro

Finish every run with an up tempo 200 or so. Doesn't have to be a sprint, but get used to the last bit of every run being up tempo (Even off of a cooldown). Then when you are racing, you have that mental "Oh yeah, time to kick".

John

Different context but same theory:

In Stephen Pressfield’s classic “War of Art”, he mentions that the high performers, the creatives, those who produce, those who are effective, etc. eventually have to learn to “be miserable”.

“The artist must be like that marine. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any soldier…because this is war, baby. And war is hell.” (68)

I believe this is a powerful idea and one every man, every leader and every change agent must learn in order to perform and push through tough seasons of life and leadership.

Navy Seals teach this...one of my friends at dinner mentioned how two-a-days football practices taught him this...another friend added how Medical school Residency taught him this...I threw in how that was my greatest lesson in training for and running a marathon…you can be miserable, and still move forward, produce and thrive.  God teaches this…see Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Paul…take your pick.

What a powerful lesson we should all live!  Could there be a greater gift, on a practical level, to invest in our kids?  How can we train emerging leaders or church planters with this reality?

In our age of spoiled kids, privileged kids, over-indulgence, helicopter parenting, and the lies we tell kids and young men and women that they “can be and do anything they want to be and do”…many are launching “soft” young adults into the world who have no idea how to struggle well or thrive through misery…so they pout and quit and remain a taker, not a giver.

Couple that with ridiculous expectations that a perfect job is waiting on them along with a perfect boss in exactly the city they want to live in along with a paycheck that is more than they’ll need and you have a recipe for a disaster…check most 20-somethings.

The few truly understand, theologically, that we live in a fallen world, this is not heaven (thank God), life is hard, there is much pain, disappointment and misery…but in the midst of that, by God’s grace, we can learn to cultivate and create in the midst of circumstances that will rarely, if ever, be ideal.  

A friend once told me to pinch Gen 1 and 2 in one hand and Rev 19 and 20 in the other.  Those 4 chapters are perfection.  The other 1,185 chapters in the Bible teach us to contend in the midst of a fallen world.

Don’t be a whiner, quitter, or baby and quit pouting or being surprised about “how hard” it is to do what you are doing.  Of course it is.  You are limited as a fallen human in a fallen world.  Learn to cultivate and create…all the while, being miserable.  If you can thrive and stay on mission, especially through the worst of circumstances, you are preparing to be a game changer, a true leader, who can adapt, adjust, and endure.  

Jesus is still our perfect rescuer and our relentless pursuit of Him is still our greatest joy.

I know when I'm gearing up for a marathon I actually look forward to that bad long run, the one where everything falls apart and you struggle for 15+ miles. I've learned that in any training season it's inevitable, so once it's happened I don't worry about it anymore.

But then you have those days where it seems effortless, and you know you're ready!

Now don't get me wrong, I've had my share of tough workouts and disappointing races.  When started running I always seemed to hit a wall around 5 miles.  I just couldn't complete a longer run without walking.  Later when I started adding tempo runs I was having trouble not slowing down or even finishing them at all.  Both of these where hard.  Neither was enjoyable.  But I felt that getting through them were important for my goals.  I realized my head was getting in the way and once I did I was able to suck it up and get through.  Did I suffer through the workouts?  At the time it sure felt like it.  But looking back I believe I was just pushing out of my comfort zone.  Doing so is certainly difficult but I want to learn how to push myself, not learn how to suffer. 

If you're really suffering I think you need to take a step back and look at what's causing you to suffer.  For example, last summer I was suffering a lot during my runs because it was so hot.  Sometimes I couldn't complete a run or I'd be reduced to run/walk. At one point I had to commandeer a garden hose during the middle of a run because I was overheated.  Initially I thought I needed to HTFU and suffer through them.  That's what you do if you want to get better, right?  Then I started to get a feeling that doing so was actually having a negative impact on my training.  What good was trying to suffer through my workouts if I was regularly unable to complete them?  So I made some changes (started tempering my pace zones with HR and changed the time I was running) and was able to complete my workout.  As a result I was able to continue to push myself and improve. 

The ability to push myself will help me improve.  Suffering won't help me meet my goals.  Suffering just sucks.