Is there nobility in just suffering?

I don’t think so.

Being an endurance athlete I have done my share of suffering.  But I don’t go to an event planning to suffer.  I know if I’m running a marathon that there is a good chance of discomfort somewhere along the line, but that’s incidental suffering.  I think there is great courage and strength and learning to be had in these low points and sometimes to meet your goals you have to just put your head down and grind it out, but suffering is not an end in itself.  And it is certainly not a noble end.

Suffering is not a strategy.  I don’t set a goal of “I’m going to go suffer”.  I set a goal of “I’m going to race to my potential and do the best I can with the resources at my disposal”.

I think I sense a thread in my own psyche that there is something noble in suffering itself.  This may have something to do with my Irish Catholic roots – it’s a self-flagellation – “life is hard” and suffering is somehow holy.  Somehow it will lead to the forgiveness of sin and beatification… It’s a hard cultural artifact to shake.

Do we have that same strain in our racing world?  Where we celebrate the suffering and not the achievement?

Is there nobility in suffering?  No, I don’t think so.  I think the ability to suffer with courage is an excellent tool to have in your endurance toolbox, but it should not be our goal. I think we can arbitrarily draw a line that says if you aren’t prepared at least to this point, you are just not showing respect for the race and yourself.  You’re just like the kid who fakes an injury to get attention.  That line is going to be different for everyone.

What do you think?