Reality Has Struck Me Down Again
I’m sure this is a shocking admission – drinking affects your workout. Yeah, as you get older you have fantastic epiphanies like this. Life changing. Amazing. Now if only I would follow my own advice.
This morning was another of those reality checks that only come to the fore when you’re in the gym at 7 am. When the weights you lifted without too much trouble two days ago are now suddenly a tremendous effort.
Now, this isn’t a new revelation. I’ve been lifting – and drinking – for decades. So their relationship has been well established as an unfriendly one. Still, at times I persist. What’s that Einsteinism – “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.” Yeah, there you go. Maybe not a different result so much as at least a neutral one. I know, genius – back to Einstein.
It usually starts out innocently enough. Yesterday was a couple beers after a round of golf with the two fine gentlemen I had met on the first tee. It was a lovely, but chilly morning. We used conversation to heat up the first few holes until the sun peeked through and began to take over. It turned into a gorgeous, windless morning that combined with some blissful golf. All was good with the world.
When all was accomplished on the course Ken gracefully invited me into the clubhouse for a drink to commiserate over our results. As always, these things eventually turn to other subjects. Ours included a dipping into that dangerous well of politics. It turned rather humorous as we related our thoughts about sizing each other up during the course of our round.
I’m originally from Seattle and only recently moved some thirty miles south to Tacoma. Ken is from just outside Vancouver, BC and Carmen is from Chicago. So, here we are, three conservative guys from very liberal cities trying to size each other up as to our leanings. Carmen asks me my profession, I tell him I was in aerospace engineering. Since he and Ken are riding together, they conclude I probably have a rational, logically-based thought process. He thinks he might be safe.
I, on the other hand, am still feeling them out. The ice is soon broken with a couple of subtle remarks, and we begin to understand we all lean to the right. Relief and laughter follow.
Then there’s the usual collection of health issues. Naturally, our ill-conceived healthcare systems deserve some comment. Adding to our running down the list of various athletic injuries, telling small tales of football, hockey, and the like, Ken relates he is recovering from cancer. He’s fortunate and doesn’t dwell on it. He’s going to keep living life. He’s a family farmer and is certainly of the mind you don’t dwell on our problems. You put your head down, figure it out, and move ahead. I admire men like these two.
Through all this I consume two beers. Hey, it’s almost noon! Close enough. After a round of golf a couple beers is always reasonable. Don’t answer if you don’t agree. I really don’t want to hear it.
Anyway, the day moves on. A lovely modest dinner of chicken thighs and mixed green salad is joined by a TNT and a vodka tonic. So, keeping tally that’s four drinks. Oh-oh. Too late, I realize the weight room is going to remind me of that tomorrow. Crap.
And yup, sure enough, this morning reminds me with a vengeance. Am I ever going to learn this lesson? Hard to tell. If I’m truthful, it’s all down to willpower and how much I want to enjoy myself. When I was young I used to beat myself up over this. Now, I more or less shrug my shoulders, mumble some cuss word under my breath during a set, and continue the internal berating through my workout.
It’s not that this happens every day. I do it just enough to remind myself what an idiot I can be. You know, all that positive reinforcement kind of stuff. Yeah, dude you’re brilliant. Why didn’t you think of this last night? Uh, because I was having too much fun? Because I’m a short-sighted, instant gratification dummy?
Ah yes, the battle for self-realization and personal progress continues. Probably right up to my grave. Just tell everyone I gave it a good go, will you?
