At this time in seven months (6:15 pm, 11/20/11), I will hit the 10ish mile mark (hopefully by around this time) in the marathon portion of the Ironman. I can’t believe it is a mere seven months away! Ahhhh!
Seven. I’ve never seen the movie (I had this boycott Brad Pitt movies thing for a while), but I did enjoy reading Dante’s Inferno back in the day. I’ve broken down my training experiences/thoughts/emotions down by the seven deadly sins and the corresponding seven virtues. Is training “bad” or “good” for me?
Lust: Excessive love of others over God. Hmm, I do skip church some weeks to get my long workout in. I wouldn’t consider this the excessive love of others. Instead, the excessive desire to not die during the race. I don’t feel I am guilty of lust-check.
Chastity: Clean in thoughts words and actions. Well, I didn’t knock the kid into the lake in the race last week and I didn’t tell him exactly what I thought of him. Check.
Gluttony: Over-indulgence and over-consumption to the point of waste. I would not need to loose ten pounds in the next month if I was not guilty of gluttony. Epic fail. . . especially after today’s potluck at work. . . Still full. I am guilty of all forms of gluttony (according to Aquinas: eating too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too wildly, too daintily. Ok, those last are iffy, but the others. . check, check, check, check.) The worst part about this sin is that I use training as an excuse to indulge. Bigger epic fail!
Temperance: Moderation in action; restraint. Since the ½ (and not including today), I have been pretty strict on my food choices. I eat when I’m hungry, I stop when I’m satisfied. I need to continue this if I want to loose my ten pounds by next month. Focus. This one is in process. . I’ll give myself a half-check.
Greed: Excessive desire of wealth, status, power. Well, what is the point of the Ironman if you are unaware of the status behind it? No one does this because it’s “fun.” No, we do it so we can call ourselves something that does not apply to everyone. Fail.
Charity: Love (love of God and love of man). Each and every workout or race provides me with some sort of “moment.” And as cheesy as it sounds, it is the moment of complete peace and just ahhhh; God’s grace. Unless I’m swimming. Then I am thrown into (and feel every bit of) Dante’s fifth circle of hell. 1/3-check.
Wrath: rage; uncontrolled feelings of hatred or anger. I have a very short temper. I get frustrated and when things don’t go my way; get out of my way. Training has provided me with an outlet to let go of this rage though. Most of the time. Very few things control my temper as well as a long hard run. Check.
Patience: Endurance under difficult circumstances. I finish what I start: even if that means a five hour marathon time when my training runs predicted 4:20. Check.
Sloth: Failure to use ones talents and gifts. One of my gifts (good most of the time) is stubbornness. I’ll work at something until I do it right. Another definition of sloth is laziness. I will not be a lazy Ironman. My worst fear (besides not finishing) is hearing, as I cross the finish line, “well, if shhheee can do it, I can.” The emphasis on she=thoughts that she’s too fat, untrained, etc. to finish. I want to come across the finish line looking like I’ve been busting my butt for the last year. Check.
Diligence: steadfast, discipline. Stick to the training plan. Get out of bed before the crack of dawn to work out. Come home after work and work out again. Check.
Envy: Resentment toward another and you wish that person depravation of what you want. I totally envy the people who are naturally more gifted than me in this triathlon thing. I do not necessarily want to deprive them of that gift however: gives me something to strive for. Check.
Kindness: concern for others. If I have the occasion to pass someone on the bike, I’ll tell them. (Yes, this might be a USAT rule, but not everyone does this. . . ) I tell people when they pass me that they’re looking strong, etc. Check.
Pride: Desire to be more important or attractive than others; failing to acknowledge the good works of others; excessive love of self. This is considered the most serious of the deadly sins. When I cross that finish line, heck yea I will be guilty, guilty, guilty of this one! Epic fail. Ahhh, more like 2/3 fail. I will definitely think I’m more important than the average person that day and I will looovvveee myself for completing such an adventure. I will NOT let the good works of the folks around me go unnoticed. I know what makes a totally awesome person awesome. She needs to surround herself with a support system that explodes with awesomeness.
Humility: modest opinion of one’s own importance. The entire experience of Ironman so far (and I’m sure it continues through training and once I cross the finish line) has been nothing if not humiliating. People’s stories of experiences and passion are nothing compared to mine. Every day is another check on the humility chart. I am not good at any of these three sports. Every day I struggle and I have a reality check of what my own boundaries are. My humility is a nice balance to my pride. Check.
Final tally: Training checks=9 5/6
Training fails= 4 2/3 (counted Epic Fails as 2, Bigger epic fails as 3)
It looks like training is worth it for me. A more important question. . . .Who will play me in the movie of this little illustration? Hmm.
Seven. I’ve never seen the movie (I had this boycott Brad Pitt movies thing for a while), but I did enjoy reading Dante’s Inferno back in the day. I’ve broken down my training experiences/thoughts/emotions down by the seven deadly sins and the corresponding seven virtues. Is training “bad” or “good” for me?
Lust: Excessive love of others over God. Hmm, I do skip church some weeks to get my long workout in. I wouldn’t consider this the excessive love of others. Instead, the excessive desire to not die during the race. I don’t feel I am guilty of lust-check.
Chastity: Clean in thoughts words and actions. Well, I didn’t knock the kid into the lake in the race last week and I didn’t tell him exactly what I thought of him. Check.
Gluttony: Over-indulgence and over-consumption to the point of waste. I would not need to loose ten pounds in the next month if I was not guilty of gluttony. Epic fail. . . especially after today’s potluck at work. . . Still full. I am guilty of all forms of gluttony (according to Aquinas: eating too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too wildly, too daintily. Ok, those last are iffy, but the others. . check, check, check, check.) The worst part about this sin is that I use training as an excuse to indulge. Bigger epic fail!
Temperance: Moderation in action; restraint. Since the ½ (and not including today), I have been pretty strict on my food choices. I eat when I’m hungry, I stop when I’m satisfied. I need to continue this if I want to loose my ten pounds by next month. Focus. This one is in process. . I’ll give myself a half-check.
Greed: Excessive desire of wealth, status, power. Well, what is the point of the Ironman if you are unaware of the status behind it? No one does this because it’s “fun.” No, we do it so we can call ourselves something that does not apply to everyone. Fail.
Charity: Love (love of God and love of man). Each and every workout or race provides me with some sort of “moment.” And as cheesy as it sounds, it is the moment of complete peace and just ahhhh; God’s grace. Unless I’m swimming. Then I am thrown into (and feel every bit of) Dante’s fifth circle of hell. 1/3-check.
Wrath: rage; uncontrolled feelings of hatred or anger. I have a very short temper. I get frustrated and when things don’t go my way; get out of my way. Training has provided me with an outlet to let go of this rage though. Most of the time. Very few things control my temper as well as a long hard run. Check.
Patience: Endurance under difficult circumstances. I finish what I start: even if that means a five hour marathon time when my training runs predicted 4:20. Check.
Sloth: Failure to use ones talents and gifts. One of my gifts (good most of the time) is stubbornness. I’ll work at something until I do it right. Another definition of sloth is laziness. I will not be a lazy Ironman. My worst fear (besides not finishing) is hearing, as I cross the finish line, “well, if shhheee can do it, I can.” The emphasis on she=thoughts that she’s too fat, untrained, etc. to finish. I want to come across the finish line looking like I’ve been busting my butt for the last year. Check.
Diligence: steadfast, discipline. Stick to the training plan. Get out of bed before the crack of dawn to work out. Come home after work and work out again. Check.
Envy: Resentment toward another and you wish that person depravation of what you want. I totally envy the people who are naturally more gifted than me in this triathlon thing. I do not necessarily want to deprive them of that gift however: gives me something to strive for. Check.
Kindness: concern for others. If I have the occasion to pass someone on the bike, I’ll tell them. (Yes, this might be a USAT rule, but not everyone does this. . . ) I tell people when they pass me that they’re looking strong, etc. Check.
Pride: Desire to be more important or attractive than others; failing to acknowledge the good works of others; excessive love of self. This is considered the most serious of the deadly sins. When I cross that finish line, heck yea I will be guilty, guilty, guilty of this one! Epic fail. Ahhh, more like 2/3 fail. I will definitely think I’m more important than the average person that day and I will looovvveee myself for completing such an adventure. I will NOT let the good works of the folks around me go unnoticed. I know what makes a totally awesome person awesome. She needs to surround herself with a support system that explodes with awesomeness.
Humility: modest opinion of one’s own importance. The entire experience of Ironman so far (and I’m sure it continues through training and once I cross the finish line) has been nothing if not humiliating. People’s stories of experiences and passion are nothing compared to mine. Every day is another check on the humility chart. I am not good at any of these three sports. Every day I struggle and I have a reality check of what my own boundaries are. My humility is a nice balance to my pride. Check.
Final tally: Training checks=9 5/6
Training fails= 4 2/3 (counted Epic Fails as 2, Bigger epic fails as 3)
It looks like training is worth it for me. A more important question. . . .Who will play me in the movie of this little illustration? Hmm.
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