AO: The Olympiad
When: 03/17/2023
Number of Pax: 4
DR Names:
Number of FNGS: 0
FNG Names:
QIC: Den Mother
Introduction
It was a brutal day for a run. 35 degrees with 20 mph winds out of the west. Perfect for what I had planned.
Warm-O-Rama
- Motivators from 7
- Abe Vigodas IC x 10
- Imperial Walkers IC x 10
- Good Mornings IC x 10
- Hairy Rockettes IC x 10
The Thang
– Thang 1 – 4 lap (1 mile) Indian Run as a group (I prescribed an 8:30-9:00 pace, that didn’t go as planned; see below)
– Thang 2 – OYO work: Sprint the straightaways (100m) and recover on the corners (100m), or run 400m (1 lap) at 90% and run another 400m to recover and then repeat, or any combo of the above
– Mary – None, we just ran until 0600
Circle of Trust
I’ve been watching the show 1883, the prequel to Yellowstone, lately as I’ve been traveling for work. The show does a great job showcasing the hardships folks endured as they headed west and explored the unknown. Next time you see the Mississippi River, ask yourself how you would traverse it with no bridges, on horseback, with stagecoaches that hold everything you own, including the supplies you need to survive your trek.
As I reflected on all the hardships our forefathers must have endured without our modern conveniences, it reminded me of this adage: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
We live in good times. I would even take it a step further and say we live in great times. As I apply the above adage to that, I worry about where we are headed as a civilization.
The human race is built to overcome adversity. Fast for a few days and your body will adjust; your mental acuity will increase. Why is that? It is because as our ancestors went hungry for a few days because of a lack of food, they had no choice but to find sustenance or they would perish. Their senses were heightened to make them better able to hunt and forage.
We are hard-wired to overcome adversity. It is innate to us. And I think these great times we are enjoying are causing some of us to seek out other types of adversity. Do you think people on the Oregon Trail were worried about what pronouns people used to refer to them? Of course not. They were worried about where their next meal was coming from, crossing that next river, or avoiding tribes or wild animals that wanted to kill them.
In modern society, we for the most part don’t have to worry about merely surviving. So what happens? We manufacture adversity because adversity is what we are built to overcome.
Subjecting ourselves to hard things to make ourselves better reconnects us to what we are built to do. The absence of adversity leads to weakness. We are strong men, and I want to see us create good times for the next generation, but with an awareness that adversity isn’t something to shy away from. Instead, adversity should be embraced, overcome, and appreciated.
Naked Man Moleskin
The Indian Run ended up being about a 7:30 pace. I didn’t realize we were going so fast until Gopher called it out around the end of lap 2. The group didn’t mind the pace so we just kept it up.
I don’t do speed work often enough. The track was a great way to keep us all together but also let everyone put in the work they way they needed to.