Rigorous Content
I often tell my athletes they should feel “pleasantly fatigued” after a work-out during taper week (rather than exhausted or shattered). Well, I have a new favorite oxymoronic term for that feeling you get after a hard season of labor: “rigorous content.” It comes from a poem called SONNET by Richard Wilbur and I like to think of the farmer as a runner after she crosses the finish line in her last race of the season …
Sonnet
“The winter deepening, the hay all in,
The barn fat with cattle, the apple-crop
Conveyed to market or the fragrant bin,
He thinks the time has come to make a
stop,
And sinks half-grudgingly in his firelit seat,
Though with his heavy body’s full consent,
In what would be the posture of defeat,
But for that look of rigorous content.”
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hi joan…do you remember me from unc? it’s great that you have this inspiration thing. i wanted to comment on one of your past posts about the women who have the fortune of balance in their lives-families, time to train, friends, good jobs, etc. versus the “one-dimensional fitness freaks who ignore the IMPORTANT things in life in order to be thinner or faster.” you judge harshly the women who struggle to find happiness and just haven’t quite figured out the right mix. when you come across someone who seems to be too ‘fill-in-the-blank’ for you to imagine them to ever be happy, maybe you should just try to have some compassion. or maybe even try to be a friend (who knows? you may be the one to help them make a first step toward balance).
Comment by betsypatrick — 12/18/2004 @ 6:17 pm
Hello Betsy,
Yes, of course I remember you. In fact, I just raced you in a half-marathon two weeks ago. I thought I should explain my position regarding “one-dimensional fitness freaks.” I was speaking about MOTHERS when I “judged harshly,” as you put it … not about single people who choose to pursue their running with single-minded passion. I do believe that when you make a decision to bring a human being into the world you must sacrifice some of your own personal time and energy to raise that child properly. I have observed over my years as a mother who runs (versus a runner who is a mother) that moms who are self-obsessed with their fitness goals tend to neglect their responsibilities to OTHER. Its one thing to be selfish when its just YOU … its antoher story entirely to be selfish when you have a child. I think you personalized my point of view and were way off base. When you have children of your own, you may understand where I’m coming from. In the meantime, you may want to try to be a little compassionate to us mothers … struggling for not just our own happiness, but for our children’s as well.
Comment by joan — 12/19/2004 @ 12:28 pm
after reading your explanations, i realize that your comment was not directed at those whom i intended to defend. i apologize for my own harsh judgement, and i understand your position. my reaction was based on a misunderstanding and a sincere desire to promote compassion for a group of people who struggle with exercise addiction and disordered eating. i do apologize for not being more cautious and i hope that my words were not hurtful.
Comment by betsypatrick — 12/20/2004 @ 12:23 pm