Maturing as an Athlete In 2005 I had a tendon injury that made it painful to run. I kept trying to run for a year and a half, because I couldn’t even imagine myself walking races. Finally in July of 2006, I tried to do a 5K on grass and ended up having to walk to the finish line. I had never walked across a finish line before. I felt awkward, like everyone was looking at me and laughing. When I crossed the finish line, I realized that not only were people not pointing and laughing, most of them didn’t even notice me at all. I’ve done a lot of races since then, doing some combination of walking and race walking. During those years, I’ve matured as an athlete and as a person. Where once I looked down at a lot of other sports, I came to realize that we are all brothers and sisters with the same basic goals. When I go through the park in the mornings, I pass a lot of people doing their own thing. Some running, others playing tennis, a couple of groups playing basketball, there is usually even an aerobics class. I’m normally the only race walker, but I see lots of walkers and even a few power walkers. There is a multitude of different sports. Some we just don’t get it. That’s ok. We don’t have to “get it”, just respect another athlete chasing their own dream. I wouldn’t enjoy spending many hours a week in the gym lifting weight just so that I can increase the weight I’m lifting, and the same lifter probably thinks I need a brain scan for going out for a 10 miler when it’s humid and 90 degrees outside. It doesn’t matter if it’s a second off our time, another pound, or throwing an object another foot. We are all the same in that we share the love of motion and of personal improvement. We earn the respect of other athletes by showing them respect and understanding that they may train as hard or harder than we do. Just because someone concentrates on the 100m sprint doesn’t mean they don’t train as hard as the marathoner. Sometimes a sport is not just about conditioning, but also perfecting movements. A race walker is judged on technique, a martial artist on form, and a gymnast on their perfection with a predetermined exercise. A competitive body builder might spend hours doing several exercises for one muscle group. It may take weeks to show the slightest improvement. That’s a kind of patience and determination many of the rest of us should have. Whatever your chosen sport is, be passionate about your training. But remember you are just a part of something much bigger, lots of people who are passionate about their own sports and healthy activities. Enjoy belonging to that exclusive club of healthy people and remember a smile, wave or nod as you pass each other shows that you acknowledge and respect their efforts. Thanks for reading. Dave
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 13:46:19 +0000
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