The Crave

Early yesterday morning, as I was half way through a particularly sadistic workout on the assault bike that was part of my workout program, I realized that in spite of my pain and discomfort, I was enjoying myself.

Don’t get me wrong, it sucked, badly. However, every time I get one of those workouts, I find myself smiling at the end, panting for air on the floor, but smiling nonetheless.

The harder these are, the more it pushes that inner chat I have with my mind to higher levels. What I mean is that it forces me to take command of my mind and tell it “nop, I’m in control, and I’m not stopping”. It’s a constant chat during those hard workouts, with several ways of tricking the mind into going quiet and leaving me alone. From a simple “just another 1 rep”, to “it’s only 2 more minutes”, I learned to put my head at ease by focusing on smaller steps.

I learned this during my time in the military. From the moment we began basic training to the time spent in specialized training for the unit I was in, we were pushed to our max, and often - very often - taken beyond that. The only way to make it was to focus just on the next step, on the next run, on the next task. Focusing on the entire training would cause you to fail. It was too much. Many people quit because of this, but those of us who stayed learned.

That experience, and later some of the crazy things I did once I was a civilian again, showed me that I really enjoy Type II fun. The suckier it is, the more I enjoy it. It’s crap while you are doing it, but so rewarding once it’s done and you are still standing.

Muscles burning, pushing through the pain, commanding the body to do what you want, and getting to the end is just one of those things that become addicting.

A craving.

I crave those activities, even as I’m getting older and older and my body takes longer to recover... It’s just an awesome feeling.

Yeah. You should try it. I bet you'll love it too.