I have been reading about Joe De Sena, the founder of Spartan races. He talks a lot about getting “uncomfortable.”   What this means is that he thinks people have become too soft, that small things rattle people and these things probably should not matter.  He advocates to “Spartan up!” which is similar to other macho entreats to man up or suck it up: when you spill coffee on yourself, you won’t get so banged up about it because you’ll compare it to slogging through 8 miles of hell on Black Mountain.  Joe is extreme (he carries a KB with him everywhere he goes now, does not drink a drop of alcohol, and seems to be full of limitless energy), but I like the point he makes and his overall objective.  He wants to make Spartan races an Olympic sport (curling, really?), and in the process get people off the couch and teach them about themselves.  “Life doesn’t allow you to skip obstacles, so why should we?” he quipped when asked how Spartan differs from other obstacle races.  I could not agree more.

The other thing that sticks with me about this message is that only when you become uncomfortable do you actually grow.  Your muscle must be torn down before it can grow.  You must learn, and learning is painful, before you can teach.  Many people quit when things get uncomfortable, right before they are about to achieve a breakthrough.  We just cannot do that.  Everyone gets tired, I don’t care if it’s a little jog, a long one, or one sprint or a thousand.  We all get tired.  It’s how we react when we are tired.  It’s the response to our bodies telling us no that matters.  It’s the innate and irrepressible belief that we will be better that matters. We all have so many gifts, and we have use of our minds and bodies.  In the immortal words of The Doors, “Break on Through to the Other Side.”  The thing that I tell myself is that the pain I feel when pushing through anything tough is nothing compared to the rage I will feel if I quit.  And then the decision is easy.  The pain is temporary, the rage is insidious and lasts forever.

We made ourselves uncomfortable today at The Goat.  The goal is to get comfortable getting uncomfortable.

• Warm up: one lap around Hooker, SSHs, Willie Mays Hayes, Squats, Merkins, Calf raises.
• High-knees, butt kickers, karaoke, a few shuffle-to-sprints (50 yards), 2 full-field sprints
• We ran 4 400s with minimal rest, said rest being a lovely core massage of Russian Hammers.
• We ran 2 800s, resting with Flutter Kicks.
• We ran one mile, resting with a recovery lap and then a low squat hold.

Mary: The rain started pouring. There is really only one appropriate exercise to call during a torrential downpour, and that is a WWII.  Wow, it felt downright luxurious.  For a moment I forgot where I was and thought it was time for an exfoliation.  Then, we had a 6-inch hold for 2 minutes, and then a bear plank for 2 minutes.

Moleskine: Great push from Vandelay and Au Jus at the front of the pack on the mile.  Awesome to see guys here at the site pushing to improve.  Just great stuff.  Love it.