The heat is brutal in Columbus, Ohio today. Just like it is in many parts of the country. It would be so easy to abscond to the comforts of air conditioning and cold beers. . . but I’m outside flipping a fucking tire. Why?
When you’re out there flipping a tire. . . no ear buds or goddamned iPod. . . just sweat and heat and the tire. . . you have questions run through your mind. And most of the questions are mindless chatter bullshit. . .
Is today the day I put the trashcan on the curb or is it tomorrow?
Do I have enough dog food to last through the week?
Does that pretty lady with the light eyes have a thing for me or am I stuck in the friend zone?
And then the chatter stops.
The chatter stops because you are red lining. You are outside flipping a tire when there are weather advisories telling everyone to stay inside and not exert themselves because they might die from heat exhaustion. You feel dizzy, you feel nauseous. . .
You feel alive!
And that’s it. That’s the best reason I can give for why I am outside flipping a tire in 100+ degree heat. It is a sanitized experience of our hunter gatherer ancestors who questioned their survivability with every spear they threw and predator they avoided. But at the end of the day when they laid their head to rest, they knew they had earned their next day.
Have you earned your next day?
Has your cubicle-dwelling-cell-phone-talking-video-game-playing-ass earned tomorrow? Did you truly earn that meal on your plate? What have you contributed to better your fellow man? Are you any closer to slaying your dragons? Or are you ignoring the tick-tock of the clock of life as you numb yourself to the next day?
The exchange of that next day is different for everyone. Joel Runyon did a sprint triathlon, an Olympic triathlon, a half marathon, and a full marathon IN ONLY A YEAR. Tyler Tervooren climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Steve Kamb continues his Epic Quest. But maybe you just need to start by turning off the damned television.
“Nothing was solved when the fight was over, but nothing mattered” – Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, page 53.
Flipping a tire or climbing a mountain is not going to cure what ails you. But it may give you that moment of clarity, that moment that you have been avoiding, to figure our what the cure is for what ails you. It’s a pause. It is Zen. It is bliss. It is that lapse of consciousness that orgasm brings without having the sex. It is what you need and what you avoid because you are afraid to hear the truth.
Go flip the fucking tire.
What is your tire? What do you do that takes you to the limits and forces you to let go? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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I've been helping people lose weight and get fit since 2001. To learn more about my simple approach to health and fitness 
You’re a little bit crazy Vic.
I love it.
Keep it up man.
What Joel Said!
Ha! Thanks for stopping by Kathy.
Thanks, man. But I think YOU might be the crazy one with all of the sky diving and endurance racing.
What’s my tire?
Kickboxing. My mind stops and I focus on when to throw, when to dodge, etc.
I’ve also been gearing up for a 14km run in Sydney, and also booked myself into 10km. Never used to like running, but now I’m in the groove, I LOVE it. It’s about the challenge, defeating the voice inside that tells me to stop and rest, pushing past the pain.
There all just vehicles for the same thing – the truth, which you realise when your mind stops thinking bullshit. It just you and what you’re doing, Satori, as the Zen Buddhists describe it.
You’ve described it well, as usually it’s an idea that’s hard to put into words.
Right on, John. It really is all about finding that truth, regardless of the vehicle. I’m hoping to get back into kickboxing in the near future. Thanks for your comment.
Love it, need to find a nice hill to do sprints on.
Gotta love those hill sprints!
Right on Vic! This is exactly what I needed to read today. Day 4 of Army Combatives level 2, and it’s right around 100 in the gym.
Hooah!
- Josh
Hooah! Big thanks for your comment, Josh! Always an honor to hear from someone out there serving our country today. Much respect. Keep kicking ass.
While I think you’re out of your fucking mind, working out, outside in this kind of heat, you’re positively right: the majority of people have not EARNED a fraction of the rights and privileges that they take for granted on a daily basis.
Great post. I’ll be back for more!
Yeah, I might be out of my mind a bit. . . but after training outside in this heat for the last week it doesn’t even bother me now. I guess I have “acclimated” to the environment. Acclimation can be a good thing. . . but it can also be a slow death when we acclimate to lives we are less than happy with. Thanks for your comment, Matt!
Outstanding site Vic! Very inspirational and educational! Congratulations on your site and wish you the best!
Erik! Always good to hear from you man. Thanks for checking out the site.
Does hitting dog poo in the backyard with a 9 iron count? I’m in Maryland for a few months and it was brutally hot here yesterday when i should have been inside. I think i saw god… LOL.
Today i feel reved and motivated. maybe it’s because i almost died in the heat yesterday.
ps
i can’t find any tires to flip
Sure hitting the poo with the 9 iron counts.
The heat has been brutal in many places in the U.S. I guess I’m just saying it can be an opportunity for a challenging training environment. . . but not one to be undertaken lightly by any means.
I’d guess that living a location independent lifestyle with a family is more challenging than any high-temp training session.