Why Brett Favre can never retire.
I think I understand why Brett Favre came out of retirement. Lack of purpose destroys the soul.
All year I worked hard preparing my body to participate in the Urbanathalon; I trained very hard often 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day. I stayed focused on my training and my diet so I would be in great shape on race day. When the race was done I had exceeded my goal by finishing almost 3 minutes faster than the one hour and forty minutes I was striving for. This achievement was very good for me, I had a sense of pride and felt strong and able to take on the world, but now I have the "post-goal, what do I do now syndrome."
It has been one week since the race; I have done very little exercising and have been eating all the wrong things and drinking way too much alcohol. I look at my weights and can’t think of a good reason to pick them up. Prior to the Urbanathalon I was a runner, my training goals included 1/2 marathons and one marathon. There is a race going on every month so I had an on-going goal to stay in shape so I could run the distance without feeling like a dead man afterwards. The running was good for me, it kept me in shape and help lower my blood pressure. There was one draw back though, I didn’t want a runner’s body, I wanted to be more athletic looking and that is why I chose the Urbanathalon with a respectable time to finish the race so I would be forced to train hard. This race requires both stamina and upper body strength and by the time I finished I knew I had taxed my body in ways that I haven’t since Army basic training, it was a good feeling. I highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a new challenge.
Now what? I want to maintain the level of athleticism that I achieved preparing for the race but I have nothing to gage whether I’m achieving this goal or a reason to work hard and maintain a body that is athletic. I know many on this site are driven by what the see in the mirror or what the scale tells them, but I see myself every day and can honestly say I have no idea what I look like. I see what is inside me and the inside has no goal and is lost. I’m sure this is the same way Brett Favre felt a week after he announced his retirement. Without the goal brining wins for the team he also had to make sure that he could survive being hit by guys ½ his age and much bigger then him. I’m sure he too became lost and without purpose and that is why he fought to get back into the game.
I’ve thought about trying amateur boxing or MMA but at 44 years old this may be a bad decision. I need my brain to function for another 44 years and a concussion is not something I feel would be healthy for my mental capacity so boxing is out of the question. MMA could be fun but I wonder if my joints will be able to bend and recover after some of the holds the opponents use on each other. So that is out of the question too.
If anyone reads this, please give me suggestions on what helps you stay driven and focused.
