Some days it just "Is what it is"

I hate those days you wake up and your hair won't do what it's supposed to do, like it has a mind of your own. Or the ones where you try on 15 different outfits and still can't come up with something that looks just right. Or even the ones where you start your day an hour early to run your errands and still manage to hit 1.5 hour stand still traffic. It's like it's destin to happen from time to time, kinda like that song I used to listen to when I was a kid, "Ironic," by Atlanis Morissette. Those days are going to come. Those days are going to test you.

Days like these in the weightlifting world will test you more than anyother. They are the days that warm up weights feel heavy. When you can't for some reason hit the bar in the right place on your hips.....or even hit your hips at all for that matter. They are the days that you catch everything forward but still somehow manage to fall backwards to your platform. These days test your character, they test your heart, they test your champion bloodflow. These are the days that make you stronger than ever both mentally and physically. These are the days that make good days SO worth the pain. 

These days downright suck, but somehow you manage to make it through. And the best part is.......after you pull that bar for the last time in that aweful practice, hit a weight that is still 20 kilos lower than your best but manage to make it look  pretty good compared to all the rest, you somehow find a smile. It's a smile that first starts in your belly, warming you up from the inside knowing that somehow you're going to live to see another day. It takes a warming sensation into your arms and legs letting them know that you're thankful for them sticking in it with you, and now they can rest.....knowing hopefully we won't have another one like that for a little while. Finally, your smile makes it up to your face.....radiating out with more glow than just any other normal day smile because damn it that sucked, and it's over, and you're somehow better than you were before it started even if it doesn't feel like it. It's a smile that you earned! 

It's a love, hate relationship on days like this......or maybe you just hate to love them? I don't know, but what I do know is this.......Champions fall from time to time, cowboys get bucked off their horse, Donald Trump has hit rock bottom, and being a true champion results in what you do when you're down there. What you do before the win, what you do when you're hurt, what you do when you're not ranked #1 and you so badly want to be. Champions are a breed so different from all the others. Sleep is different, work is different, training is different, and love is different. Be a champion, make life hurt, and get the hell up when you fall. You will survive this terrible day and tomorrow will be brighter because of it. Take these days to get strong because these are the ones where everyone else quits. I won't quit. Never. It's not in my blood. I will welcome these days and then hit them in the butt with the door when they leave. Come join me in being a champion.