Hurts so good

I hate cleaning. Despise it. After I sign a shoe deal with Nike and have money to throw away I'll definitely be hiring a maid. But in the meantime, I need to tidy up my place a bit, and while I do dislike cleaning I am also not a fan of living in a pit. Some of my former roommates can attest to that...

I did make some decent progress cleaning and organizing this weekend; took a big bag to Goodwill and a few to the dumpster. While I was sorting through the last box I still hadn't unpacked since moving in late July (pathetic, yes, I'm well aware), I found a piece of paper upon which I had written down some of my favorite quotes from Lance Armstrong's first book It's Not About the Bike. The one at the very top of the page was amazingly appropriate for how I've been feeling lately, and also appropriate for all athletes in general. Due to some mystical confluence of the gloomy weather and other unpleasant events, I haven't been the most chipper lately. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful to be healthy (well, minus the bulging disk...) and employed and to have family and friends nearby, but everyone hits rough patches from time to time. If you ever find yourself suffering mentally or physically, read this quote for a little comfort:

"Suffering, I was beginning to think, was essential to a good life, and as inextricable from such a life as bliss. It's a great enhancer. It might last a minute, or a month, but eventually it subsides, and when it does, something else takes its place, and maybe that thing is a greater space. For happiness. Each time I encountered suffering, I believed that I grew, and further defined my capacities - not just physical ones, but my interior ones as well, for contentment, friendship, or any other human experience." ~Lance Armstrong in It's Not About the Bike

*The above picture is from the 2006 RAGBRAI bike ride across Iowa when Lance and his Livestrong team passed my dad in the middle of nowhere, pretty cool! I was super-excited to read that Lance will be running the Boston Marathon this April so perhaps I'll get the chance to take my own paparazzi Lance picture then! I'm a big Lance fan, and someday when my knees give out and running is not quite as enjoyable I'm looking forward to riding my bike a lot, all around the country, maybe in a few foreign locations too, wherever the wheels take me!