It's true, if I were a full-time climber, I would be dang good. You'd be amazed, I promise. But I don't climb full-time, partly because I get bored with being scared all the time, and partly because I can't help hurting my girly fingers (which, unfortunately, happen to be paired with a set of quite manly thighs).
So when I'm injured from climbing, or I just can't handle the adrenaline anymore, I run... preferably on trails, but also through the dreary, nighttime streets of Livingston if time is limited. If I ran full-time, logging the 70-100 mile weeks like a proper ultramarathon runner should, I'd be dang good at that too... I just know it. But there's a problem: as soon as the outside temperatures are mellow, and my fingers are healthy, I can't help but caress the beautiful face of any vertical surface I come near (even the odd bathroom wall). Climbing becomes my mistress as I cheat on my ultramarathon training. I'm a terrible person.
Of course, there's another complication. All would be fine if I just climbed and ran... I'm certain I'd still be pretty awesome at both. But I have really sweaty, greasy fingers when I climb on hot days, and I feel like my head is going to explode when I run in the heat. My wife often explains that I could eliminate a great deal of my suffering if I went shirtless, but as my brilliant, white chest clearly demonstrates, apparently I'm still a bit bashful.
So what does a busy-body like me do when it gets really hot? Well, I begin dreaming of sailing down trails and roads on my bikes while bearing a giant, bug-eating grin. Naturally, I am aware that I'd be pretty formidable on a bike if I was a full-time cyclist; but I have a problem with the concept of riding wheel-to-wheel in a pelaton of 100 bikes all traveling at 25mph. Also, as part of my religious belief, I don't subscribe to bike trainers... It is a must unnatural use of a wheel to make it spin in place. Therefore, I refuse to train in the winter for races that terrify me in the summer. I certainly enjoy my recreational rides on summer days, but it would seem that as soon as the temperatures plummet, I find myself forsaking my hard-earned, summertime butt calluses as I take to climbing and running once again.
Okay, so now that we've covered in detail why I'm incapable of being a single sport athlete, and why that makes me sub-par at a number of things. Lets take a moment to address the main idea here... why being worse is indeed better.
Well, it's quite simple really. If a guy does three different sports, his act of perpetually cheating on one sport with another sport leaves him fully aware that he'll never be remarkable at any of them. That's when he gets to just shrug his shoulders, say, "meh," and forget about the pressures associated with constantly feeling the need to train and perform. He is now free to aimlessly walk through the woods, caressing and fantasizing about beautiful boulders and cliffs. He is now free to stop for a sandwich on a mountain top without the need for a better round-trip time. His sports become his escape, his counselor, and his personal trainer. He is a lucky dude.
That is well said. I like the idea of not trying to limit yourself with just one sport. It's too easy to become a climber or runner at the expense of everything else. I think there is some wisdom to being a complete well rounded athlete.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it! I certainly is easier to avoid blind obsession when you have many activities that you enjoy. There sure is a lot of fun stuff to do out there!
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