So I went on a date a number of years ago. I always considered myself to be the kind of person who makes a pretty good first impression. In spite of my flaws (heck, we all have them), I felt like my first date experiences usually went pretty well. On this particular date, I had cold-called this young lady. She was a friend of a friend. While I was in my mind my usual charming/respectful/nice self, I wasn’t exactly focused on the date itself with a lot going on at school. The date went okay, but it was definitely not what I thought of being something special.
This seems to happen a lot in life. You prepare for things as best as you can. It might be an exam in school, an interview, a date, a presentation at work, or in the case of many of you reading this, a race. Some of these things you love to do, some you don’t and despite all of your prepping, you go into this event knowing that you do not have your “A” game or anything even close to it. That is tough to do. You try to make excuses or maybe even get out of it. But that shouldn’t be the mission.
When things like this happen, you need to make the best of the situation. That is what I am doing in about two hours. I am about to head out the door to Platte River State Park for a 7 mile trail race. I love trail running. I love trail running the way I love chocolate milk and beer (not together, but chocolate and beer, well I digress). I do not love trail running the way I love my son, but again I digress. But on this day, my legs are not ready to go. More importantly neither is my mind. I am trying to psyched up for it, but if I can’t be competitive, what is the point?
Well, I need to find some meaning beyond competing. Maybe I will make it into a workout that is a bit different. Maybe I will do some photogin’ or video interviews to capture the spirit of the event. Who knows? Regardless, every race does not NEED to be something that is so serious and pressure packed. Sometimes, having a less than satisfactory event gets you ready for something over the long run.
That date I had, well, she is now my wife.