As often happens, unless I keep a close eye on it, my mind wandered off during a recent trail run.  I thought back several weeks when gravity, my mountain bike and a lack of talent conspired to separate my acromioclavicular joint – commonly known as an ac joint. Big picture – not a big deal! However, as I struggled through my run, my mind dredged up the story of ancient Sisyphus. Legend has it that after quite a lot of naughtiness, he was condemned for all eternity to push a large boulder to the top of a mountain. Here’s the fun bit. As soon as he reached the top, the boulder would roll back to the bottom, and Sisyphus would have to start all over again.

Somehow that story seemed appropriate as I considered how my recent injury had kept me from running, and how much my fitness had taken a hit. Getting fit, increasing our fitness and staying fit can seem like pushing a boulder up a mountain. Just when we reach some goal, an injury, or work pressure, or some other obligation sends the fitness boulder rolling back down to the bottom. And I have yet to have someone explain to me how it can take months to build up a fitness level…and about 17 minutes of inactivity to lose it all!

So after a month of forced inactivity, here I was near the bottom of the mountain trying to push the bloody boulder back up again. And then (there went the mind again) I started thinking about Odysseus and the Land of the Lotus Eaters. For those of you who didn’t spend your college years translating ancient Greek, here’s the short version. At one point during their multi-year “road trip” Odysseus and his tired crew fetched up on the shores of an island whose inhabitants were known as the “Lotus Eaters.” When members of his crew ate the fruit of the Lotus plant, they were so overcome by blissful forgetfulness, they completely abandoned any thought of continuing their journey. All they wanted to do was lay around all day, munching on the delicious Lotus plant.

The “land of the Lotus-eaters” seems an apt description for that place at the bottom of our fitness mountains. Exercise is hard work! Reclining on the sofa is not! When it is cold, or dark, or hot, or wet, or snowing, etc…getting out the door is hard. Staying in bed is easy. So much of American culture is geared towards sloth, inactivity and Lotus-eating lifestyles that deciding to lace up the runners to have another go at that boulder…it can be tough. And it doesn’t matter if you are a new runner just starting to get into shape, or a seasoned vet getting back into shape for whatever reason, climbing back up that mountain sucks…at first.

But here’s the secret that a seasoned vet knows that a new runner might not…it gets easier. Unlike Sisyphus, if we persevere and push that boulder far enough up the mountain, gradually the slope lessens. If we maintain, if we continue exercising, if we continue with healthy lifestyle choices, then we can stay up top for a while.

And it’s FUN up there. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to go for a long run or a grueling hike and come out the other end feeling tired – but energized all the same. It feels good to feel good. So…I put my wandering mind back on a leash and finished that mediocre run. And then I went on another…and another…and another…and so on. Each time I manage to push that stupid boulder a little higher up the mountain.  Wherever you are on the mountain, keep pushing, keep climbing, keep working. Sisyphus might disagree, but it is so worth it! Seize the Carp!