That's gonna hurt

Today is a tender day.

That I can't straighten my arms due to a ridiculous amount of team pull-ups on Tuesday doesn't help. During the 30 minutes it takes me to pull on my sports bra (complete hilarity to a fly-on-the-wall-observer) I have time to consider and feel that my inner me is aching today, too.

This is not me! 

The last two weeks have afforded lively and intense workouts with some of the best people on planet earth.  My weary body is reaping the wages of conquered hills and miles of trails on bike and foot. Blue collar muscles are on strike, demanding better working conditions and more vacation time.  But I'd do it all again a hundred times over (and will next week, get ready!).

My absurd soreness indicates more than consecutive and challenging physical workouts.  It points me immediately to the people I was racing, timing, pushing, coaching and enjoying.

Screamingly sore arms bring to mind poignant stories, good natured teasing and shared belly laughs.  I wince and groan with the effort of flossing my teeth, but it makes me recall yesterday's biking bravery on the hill, way too much silliness by Martin during 200 lunges, the moon on the golf course during the quiet flashlight run...

Fun and memories in spades.

While the tender muscles point me to hard athletic work, they point me in a hundred ways to the hearts of my athletes, the character of my coaches and the love of my friends.

My insides are hurting because, of course, it's time to leave this sweetness for a season.  Our family is about to embark on an adventure I am sure we won't quickly forget.  On most days I think Awesome! Adventure!  Bring it!  But on a tender day like today I get teary and picture myself slumped over,  shuffling down a forlorn, freezing, farm road, in the rain, all alone.

All Alone Athlete  (I can be pretty dramatic when the time calls for it).

I realize I am feeling a little raw, inside and out, because I believe what I coach.  Good workouts bring out the most remarkable, the unexpected and the truly beautiful in people.  Good coaches will push you beyond your comfort and ask for more, because that's where the beauty is, where the growth and fruit becomes visible.

I have been witness to much remarkable, unexpected beauty in the last five years and I will miss it, no matter what amazing adventure awaits on the other side. I am ripping away from life as I like it, the people and place I love.  But it is a truth that I am getting pressed beyond my own comfort and I'm being asked for more.  I know that's where the beauty is, where the growth and fruit becomes visible.

It's hard work and it's heart work.

I'm going to be sore.