Scott McMillan : Endurance Junky

I haven’t raced much lately and to be honest I miss it. What do I miss? The suffering. Read two great articles related to this yesturday, re-enforced everything.

Welcome to the Cult By Robert Mackey and

Glory through Suffering

I think it is hardwired into us to feel pain and suffering. When we were on the plains chasing down a dear, woolly mammoth I am pretty sure we would have felt the burn. Today we have no real outlet for this unless we participate in hard sports more specifically endurance and endurance racing. We have not evolved, we are using the same hardware as ten thousand years ago just attempting to operate 21st century software.

Quote from LA:

“Cycling is so hard, the suffering is so intense, that it’s absolutely cleansing,” he wrote in his autobiography. “The pain is so deep and strong that a curtain descends over your brain. . . . Once, someone asked me what pleasure I took in riding for so long. ‘Pleasure?’ I said. ‘I don’t understand the question.’ I didn’t do it for pleasure. I did it for pain.” Armstrong mentioned suffering (favorably) in each of my conversations with him.

I think what I need right now is some suffering. Maybe I will TT the grind Saturday.