1. You relish the spontaneous nature of open water swimming. Whether it is leaping out of the water because you think a stick is a snake or having someone roughly the size of an NFL linebacker swim over top of you, it’s never the same experience twice.
2. You took up trail running because you love the beauty of nature, the effort of the run, challenge of the terrain and frankly having the guy at the convenience store ask you why you are covered in mud is a great conversation starter.
3. Your friends tell you that they think that 10 workouts a week is excessive. You don’t have the heart to tell them that most weeks you can only get in nine, and it makes you feel like a slacker.
4. You enjoy weight lifting because everything is already there at the gym. You don’t have to pack stuff. You don’t have to coordinate schedules. There is more personal space. And finally you don’t have to negotiate with barbells about the number of reps or sets.
5. You love group rides because chasing maniacs across rolling farmland is so much more entertaining than sitting at home muttering under your breath about which carbon wheels you can afford while your Labrador retriever turns his head and gives you a perplexed look.
6. You decide that mountain biking is a great interval workout because you enjoy the dread of a heart attack on the climbs almost as much as the near certainty of a crash on the downhills.
7. You cross off each training day for a big race with the same lighthearted optimism as a convict waiting for a parole hearing.
8. There is nothing quite like spending a couple hours on your bike trainer on a cold winter morning watching an action movie and spinning faster during the car chases. When the grizzled veteran cop tells his young rookie partner that he’s too old for this “sheep shampoo,” you hear yourself say “hey, at least you can feel your butt.”
Pick a number! Which one is your favorite or sounds like you?
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I love that the picture is a Chesapeake Bay retriever. I have two of them currently. Have had chessies since 1994. The best dog.
I’ve had black labs & a Golden. I always wanted a chessie or newfie.
Labs are so laid back. Chessies are a breed all to their own. Stubborn but smart has to be their way. 😂