Thank You for the Marathon of Life and The Sprint Runner

I look athletic, but I’m not.

It’s just genetics, not endurance or discipline or anything I did on purpose.

But if Life was a metaphoric action sport, I would be all about Track and Field, not a long, steady marathon.

I like the multiple options of pole vaulting over obstacles, sprint running past drama fires, long jumping into creative endeavors, and…  throwing an occasional discus when I have an olympic tantrum about my lack of endurance for tedious marathons when I need a nap.

Life is short and the defined perimeters of one competitive marathon can consume a whole lifetime before we get to the finish line.

And seriously, who wants to get there sooner and steadier?

Marathons are about endurance;

Endurance: noun, the  power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way : the capacity of something to last or to withstand wear and tear.

Endurance (also called sufferance) is the ability for an animal to exert itself for a long period of time.

In humans, it is usually used in exercise.

Training for endurance can have a negative impact on the ability to exert strength unless an individual also undertakes resistance training to counteract this effect.

That definition of endurance says it all for me.

I don’t want to suffer through a marathon.

I would rather cultivate strength than endurance.

I have lived a life of short term goals, not one long race.

I have experienced some resistance training and some wear and tear but I prefer being more of a sprint runner with intermittent bursts of fast paced accomplishments and quiet times in between.

Now,  that doesn’t mean I’m cocky about it, like the Hare in The Tortoise and the Hare.

Yeah, I understand that slow and steady wins the race.

But … what’s the prize at the finish line?

Did the tortoise get a gold watch and  a 401k?

At least the Hare got to take a nap before he found out the finish line was rigged, an illusion, a ploy, a social security bankruptcy.

We are all gonna finish this race whether we are faster or more steady or able to suffer better than others.

I’m looking for way to pole vault over that fact, but it’s not looking promising.

So I think it’s okay to take short naps along the way—before the marathon tuckers us out and uses up the best years of our lives.

Also, speaking for me, I like the Pentathlon better than the Marathon.

I just don’t have the attention span to accommodate 26 miles and 385 yards of tedium.

My endurance is limited to multiple choice activities that offer mettle instead of a medal (or a gold watch).

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~ by leakelley on October 2, 2009.