A few weeks ago, I fulfilled a commitment I had made months ago by participating in a Spartan race held at Baylor University’s football stadium. Spartan races involve a lot of running with obstacles along the path. In this race, the run was about three miles with most of it going up and down the bleachers. There were also twenty obstacles ranging from walls to get over, heavy stuff to carry, bars/rings to maneuver, and ropes to climb. It was a huge challenge for me to attempt for the first time at my age.
I can describe the experience as awesome and disappointing. If you are old enough to remember the old Wild World of Sports promo of the “thrill of victory and agony of defeat”, you can identify with me that morning. I felt the entire range of emotions. There were 2500 participants and an equal number of spectators. The energy level was great, and I started out strong. I made it over all the walls including the 8’ monster that I was worried about getting over. It was awesome coming over the top of those walls having conquered those challenges. However, as the race wore on, I got tired and was severely fatigued in upper body strength. I failed several obstacles toward the end of the race. I was tired, tentative, and didn’t approach those obstacles with confidence. After failing, I was so disappointed because I knew I could do it if I had just trained smarter and gone at the challenge with confidence. The thrill of victory and agony of defeat all within an hour time span.
As I ran through the finish line, collected my shirt, and looked for a bottle of water, I instantly reflected on the life lessons that I was just reminded of during that grueling one hour on that course. I knew each of those lessons prior to the race but was reminded of them in a very real way.
- • Team is a powerful thing. There were participants running the race as a team. They would help each other with the various obstacles, encourage each other along the way, and take some of the weight burden off a teammate when they were fatigued. These same principles are true in life as well. A team is a group of people united by a common purpose. Teams can be a powerful influence in each of our lives and something we should all strive to be a part of when possible.
- Passivity and hesitancy will not lead to success. Once the obstacle is understood, and the pathway is clear, one must attack the challenge with great confidence and relentless pursuit of success. I am not referring to a reckless approach, but rather a determined, confident approach that won’t give in to fear of failure. As I previously mentioned, I was on both ends of the spectrum during the race. Here again, isn’t life eerily like what I have just described? If we are passive, hesitant, and fear failure, we are almost certain to not put forth our best efforts on a matter. However, if we seek to understand the requirements and then go forward with confidence, great effort, and never accept anything less than our best, we will most certainly be satisfied with our efforts.
- Never underestimate the importance of preparation. While I trained hard, I did not train smart. I ran long distances up hills and steps, hung on bars, held onto rings, lifted heavy weights, and did everything I thought possible to prepare for the race and obstacles. I didn’t consider the fatigue factor. I trained hard, but not smart given the nature of this competition. We can be very busy in life too. but are we effective? Let’s not confuse activity with achievement. We can look busy in life, but are we using our time wisely to have the most impact and make the most difference?
- Do it now. Don’t procrastinate on opportunities you want to pursue, events you want to experience, or things you want to accomplish. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. One day you will wake up and be out of time. While you don’t want to be reckless or foolish with your health, money, or time, you also don’t want to continually put off or talk yourself out of things that are important to you. Regardless of the outcome, I made a commitment to the race and followed through with that commitment. About halfway through the course, a security guard, about my age, asked me how I was doing. I told him the race sounded like a good idea a few months ago. It was a good idea, and I’m so glad I did it!
It’s amazing what you re-learn during the thrills of victory and the agony of defeat. A special thanks to Lauren at Crossfit Ruston for the rope climbing lesson!
