"Making Peace"

I hate swimming. I hate riding on the trainer instead of outdoors. I hate that I have to run inside in the pool instead of outside with my pup. I hate stretching, and I hate that I have to go to acupuncture appointments 3x a week. I hate, I hate, I hate...

And yet I love training, I love triathlon, and I love that I'm working toward the daunting goal of being an Ironman. I love hurting just as much as I hate it. Weird, right? It sounds insane, unless you read Bree Wee's blog entry "Making Peace" - My Blog - Hawaii.

"There is a new level of appreciation for sport... it was the fact that it hurts so good when you are done and the only way to get that feeling is to go bravely to that place and get it...literally it was like I had to walk to the door of pain, knock on it, and make a peace offering that it wins."

I'm still very much in the learning process of "making peace" with the workouts and circumstances I hate. But, I now have a better understand of what drives me to do the things I hate. I can start making peace with the part of me that is willing to go to any length, to the highest level of pain, to the lowest point of exhaustion, in order to experience the satisfaction that can only come through those sacrifices.

Call me crazy if you want. But I will get to feel satisfaction that only the people who work hard enough, often enough, and earn it can feel. I can handle that.