Competing and Caffeining

Sometimes, metaphors actually work

My daughter, Margot, competed in the DEKA Strong event at our local gym this morning. Originally slated to compete at noon, she and her partner in this competition, Michelle (I call them “Team M &M”), successfully moved up their starting time to 9 am.

I was glad. Waiting until noon gives you too much time to overthink and get nervous. She and Michelle had practiced the events prior to the actual go time. If you’re not familiar with DEKA, it is a timed competition of ten grueling events that test strength, speed, and endurance. It is brutal.

Why do it? To challenge yourself. To compete as a team if you choose. To give yourself and your level of fitness a reality check. And as famous mountaineer George Mallory said, “Because it’s there.”

Even with the earlier starting time, Margot started to get anxious. “That’s good,” I told her. “That means it’s important to you.” Easy for me to say. While she was running around the house getting ready, I was drinking coffee.

Her coach, Eliza, told her the most important thing was to not let the adrenaline rush at the beginning of the event make you go too fast too soon. If that happens, you’ll burn yourself out too quickly, sapping your energy and your strength too early, leaving you with no fuel in the tank to complete the later events.

It made me realize that you can apply this to almost everything in your life that’s important to you. Prepare and train like a maniac, but don’t be manic on the big day. You’ll have nothing left in the tank when it’s time to finish the job.

Team M & M listened to their coach and battled the course and their own doubts well. When they finished, they were exhausted and exhilarated. I was proud.

Sports really can be a metaphor for life. You can learn from them when you compete, and if you’re lucky, even when you’re just drinking coffee.