Challenge and joy can live side by side.

I’ve had a busy weekend. Saturday was the local Cherry Festival in The Dalles, OR. Parade, carnival, street food. It’s a regular ol’ fun fair. Sunday was the Spring Classic Duathlon. A fast race involving running 5km biking 21km and running another 5km as fast as you possibly can.

Why does it matter: We all need a mix of joy and challenge in life. The key is to know when you’ve had too much of one or the other.

These two days illustrate two different types of “fun”.

Type 1 fun

Type 1 fun is just plain fun. With outdoor adventures this is the waterfall off the side of the road, the bike ride with friends and otherwise enjoying a sun-shiny beautiful day. It can also look like carnival games, ferris wheels, elephant ears and deep fried Oreos. Type 1 fun is pleasurable on the moment.

Type 1 fun is great for making memories with others, having enjoyable shared experiences solidifies the sense that time together is associated with joy.

You can have too much of a good thing. Pizza and video games both rank as type 1 for most people. Seeking out that kind of fun day after day will quickly lead to destruction. You can only eat so much ice cream before you puke.

Type 2 fun

Type 2 fun is challenging. It doesn’t feel like fun, isn’t pleasurable in the moment. You only think of it as fun once it’s over. Either they payoff at the end is worth it, like with the view from the top of a mountain or you feel proud of the accomplishment. You overcame the challenge. This might be hiking up dozens of switch backs to see the waterfall hidden up the mountain stream, crossing the finish line of a marathon, duathlon, triathlon or even your first 5k.

This weekends duathlon was an example of type 2 fun. The course and transition were a soupy muddy mess. I got passed by an older guy on the bike with running shorts so floppy they were basically just a butt flap. Immediately afterward the road itself mocked me with “slow” written across the pavement. I couldn’t help but laugh.

This type of fun is more rewarding than type 1 fun. You build resiliency from overcoming the challenge. The more resilient you are the better off your mental health. Type 2 fun is also great for making memories and building bonds. We get close to those we suffer with.

However, if you spend every day of your life pushing yourself out of your comfort zone you will eventually burn out. You need to rest and recover.

What’s Next?

I’ll be analyzing my training block and key lessons learned from the race. If you want to get better you need to analyze the results of your current system.

Something worth sharing

Rock needs super groups. From Adioslave to the Traveling Wilburys, when you get the best in a genre together, it can be a wonderful thing. Enter Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers.

These three women are major talents in their own right. The product of their collaboration, boygenius - the record, is a collection of songs that highlight the voices and story telling abilities of these artists. Ranging from sad to rebellious this album is worth a listen.