To end January and begin February I seem to be plagued by a whole host of physical issues. Some of this has clearly been related to long standing sports injuries from years past. Right leg strain (evidently my sartorious muscle??), right shoulder problem (likely from my glorious years in the outfield), and now experiencing a problem for which antibiotics are in order. So feeling a bit challenged to keep up the workouts.
However, in some respects, this all seems pretty trivial stuff when compared to the stories I've been reading lately in a new book called 17 Hours to Glory. The stories in here, so far, are truly astounding.
As you read this and recount just even the injuries sustained during training (broken collarbones, broken scapula, stress fractures, etc.) its a wonder that there are literally thousands that line up every year to take this sport/event on. And some of the pros put in extraordinary hours on training - 50 hours a week on the bike alone! And then you hear some stories about how athletes get through a particular tough race - licking the salt off their own bodies to get through to the next aide station or to the finish line.
So my current physical challenges are mild by comparison. Time to toughen up mentally is probably the biggest challenge when you read these stories.
Or might be easier to watch the videos of the World Championship in Kona with a bag of chips and a bottle of coke at my side...
