Endurance Athletes love Extremes: setting records, going longer, and testing limits seems to be in our very DNA. We cheer for and are fascinated by other athletes that accomplish great feats. But this attitude is not limited to endurance athletes who love to test themselves.
Extremes in sports give us hope. It empowers us with belief in
ourselves. It encourages us to cheer for and respect others. Maybe that's
the main benefit of sport in our world.
Movies are based on the underdog coming from behind to win, or people that run marathons, do Ironmans, surf, swim, mountain bike (the list is endless)... after severe body traumas or under extreme emotional/situational hardships. Is it because most people, not just athletes, have a deep desire to be validated? If someone can do something so remarkable in sport, then maybe we can do "X".
I live in extremes and love it here! My fascination centers around two sports other than Ironman. These sports are Beach Volleyball and FIS World Cup Skiing.
First, Beach Volleyball is a very simple sport. The rule list seems short compared to other sports. Don't let the ball hit the ground on your side and try to make it hit the ground on the opponent's side. There are other rules, of course such as don't interfere under the net and you can't "lift" the ball. But volleyball players themselves are extremely fascinating to me. They "lay it down" on EVERY play. Beach Volleyball players are some of the most athletic people I have ever watched. Strength. Wow. If one opponent accidentally hits another in the face, grown men cry. Or they try really, really hard not to on camera. They can jump. High. Many times. Reaction times? Lets not even go there! Digging a ball traveling at 150 mph at your face? Talk about extreme. Quickness? Without a doubt. If I dove for some of those balls like they do, I wouldn't be getting up for AT LEAST 30 minutes. They are back up and hitting the next ball (with accuracy I might add) in 30/100 of a second. Who DOES that? And we won't even go to self confidence. To play like that in that gear on international cameras? Again, WOW!
If you haven't watched Beach Volleyball, I recommend it. The USA has incredible women and men teams. I won't mention names, but I have a few favorites!
The next sport is FIS Skiing. A few years ago I knew very little about this sport. I didn't know the difference between down hill, slalom and giant slalom. However, another easy sport. Stay on course and go faster than anyone else. These races are like swimming. Winners and 20th place are determined by sometimes about one second. Ted Liggety did the opening race a couple of weeks ago in Solden and "blew away the field"; winning with an incredible .79 of a second. My nerves could never handle losing by less than a blink of an eye. It isn't unusual at all for second place to be .02 behind the winner. Hence, Liggety's impressive win by about 3/4 a second.
FIS Skiiers go fast. That isn't new news. But have you thought of the power and strength it would take to hold a tuck for 2 minutes while fighting against wind, speed, gravity, and the strength to make the turns? Once my kids and I tried to hold the tuck for an entire race until the skier on tv crossed the finish line. One of the hardest things we've done and we weren't turning around gates and holding our bodies against wind, pure speed, and gravity of a very steep hill.
I am fascinated by all FIS skiers. Of course, the USA has a great team, but my fascination is not limited to the USA. I follow skiers from so many other countries, it would be impossible to name them. Skiers rebound after multiple knee injuries. It's like they have a revolving door from the slopes to the operating room and back to the weight room.
Skiers are extreme. If you don't know anything about Lindsay Vonn, you should. And this year, I'm giving a huge shout-out to USA's Mikaeala Shiffrin.
As endurance athletes, we should be able to appreciate the hard work and discipline for other sports. Some of their races are literally 2 minutes or shorter. We try to finish in under 17 hours. Those are two extremes. However, we can respect and admire hard work, discipline, dedication and athleticism in many forms. If we expose our kids to every day "heroes" that work hard and dare to dream, maybe they too can believe they can accomplish extremely great things.
Go Extreme. Believe in yourself. Cheer for others and respect others' efforts. Set your goals high and ENJOY THE RIDE!
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