Sucking it Up

On Sunday afternoon, I went out for another “training ride,” for slower riders looking to improve their skills, and maybe get faster. It was a 30 mile ride, and it was hilly. There were a few folks with skills and speed equivalent to mine, and there were a few riders who are stronger and faster. To a certain extent, it’s always the faster riders that set the pace for the rest of the group, so off we went! This is exactly the kind of motivation I need to push myself to work harder and ultimately (I hope) improve. Even if I don’t really get faster, at least I will get more comfortable trying to ride faster (does that make sense?). There was no sag wagon and there was no way I was getting off the bike to walk. There were moments (F*%#K ANOTHER hill) when I had to tell myself to suck it up and keep the wheels turning.

On Tuesday evenings I swim with the Master’s Swim Team. I am now at the point where I do the same workout as the “faster” swimmers, but with slightly shorter distances. At the end of every workout, we usually do 100 yard medleys (that’s 25 yards of each of the competitive strokes—butterfly, back, breast and freestyle), usually two of them. Well, on Tuesday night, we did FIVE. I pushed pretty hard on the first two, because I didn’t know there would be 3 more! After 3, I thought I might puke. After 4, I thought I might die. I thought the coach might die when he said 1 more, because my teammates were ready to kill him. Once again, it was time to suck it up and just get through it so I could get out of the F*&^King pool/torture chamber. I did not die. I didn’t even puke. I did sleep well!

Sucking it up is very similar to Dab the Wussy. The difference is when you dab the wussy, you are focusing on a particular activity and planned your workout to induce discomfort. You do it because you know it’s hard. Sucking it up typically involves no planning. You find yourself at the edge and you have no choice but to push yourself. The end result of both is the same—you get stronger, faster, better at whatever it is you are doing. And then you can go eat and take a nap with no guilt!