Glutton for punishment

What's up ya fuckers!?

Tonight's post won't be long since I need to get to bed soon.
I have a question to ask all of you: What weird little thing makes you feel good? It's something that no one else may understand, but to you, it's what you live (or die) for....


For me, it's pain. I am (as the tittle states....think ahead people, think ahead) a glutton for punishment. The greatest feeling I ever have is pain. And I'm not so sure it's the pain, but that millisecond after the pain when your mind just goes black, and then everything refocuses......and you're alive...if only barely. That pain pretty much rules much of what I do my entire life. I live to push myself to the point where I break; mentally, physically, whatever. It's why I run hard, probably why I drink whiskey (though I've heard it's because alcoholics like the burn of the drink more than the drink itself), probably why I put myself out there emotionally only to be metaphorically burned, time and time again.

So, like I said, what is THAT thing that you live for? Do you know? Have you ever even thought about it? If you haven't, you might want to. Why? Because at some point, you are going to be asked to draw a line in the sand about something; work, play, libations, relationships, exercise, et al. Maybe if you put some thought into now and figure out what that thing is then the next time you look down to try and figure out where to draw that line, you'll see  you've unknowingly already drew it.

Now for the "Classic Man" of the day. This one is a bit unsual, if I do say so myself.

Photo Courtesy of Steve Friedman, July 2004 Runner's World

Now, I would imagine you have no idea who this individual is, which is fair. His name is Gerry Lindgren. He won the 10,000 meter race in 1964. He beat the USSR runners, who, to that point, were an impenetrable force in this particular event (Think of the move Miracle.... got it? Yeah, they were THAT good). I'll go into a little background so you get the point:

The Soviet style of running was to run one lap (a "pace" lap) at 70 seconds, then run a "sprint" lap at 60 seconds, then return to the pace lap. They would do this at particular points during the race, key intervals within the 10,000 meters. So what did Lindgren do? He ran 7 sprint laps in a row.

Why is he the "Classic Man" today? Because he was the underdog, the smallest man out on the track that day, because he beat the Soviets at something they never lost (beating Communists is always "Classic American Man") and because he gutted it out through utter PAIN and AGONY, all for his country (The '64 Olympics took place right after JFK was assassinated by a want to be Soviet named Lee Harvey Oswald). THAT is why he is a "Classic American Man."

That's all for today.

Until next time,

-Fair Winds and Following Seas.....