How Difficult Can This Be?

Once upon a time there was this good-looking over-confident guy who thought he could run.  “How difficult can this (running) be?”  He quickly discovered the best that could be done was a few hundred measly meters.  The handsome gent hid away for several months, self confidence shattered.  Somewhere deep inside he found his heart and eventually mastered the marathon, the 50K, the 50 mile, and even the 100 mile.  Now what was this gorgeous man to do?

 

The man with lovely locks of hair thought he could do an Iron Man.  “Easy enough,” he says.  “After all, I am an accomplished endurance runner,” he comments with a smug tone.  “How difficult can this (Iron Man) be?  I’ve run 21 plus hours.  The Iron Man is only a 10-12 hour event – half the time.”  No one ever said this alluring gent had any brains.

 

One would think the tall and increasingly well tanned phenom, would have learned a lesson or two after many failed trail-and-error episodes of, “How difficult can this be,” statements.  You would think Mr. Beautiful’s every dream turns into a haunting nightmare of, “How difficult can this be,” replays.  One of these days the pretty-boy might learn his lesson. 

 

I’m sure this sweet man will never forget his first swim.  “How difficult can this be?”  He says, “It’s only 25 meters to the end and I am wearing the best form fitting swim attire on the market.  If you look good, you will swim good.  Why I bet I can swim a mile without any difficulty whatsoever.”  In yet another self confidence shattering attempt, the sleek man propelled himself to the far end of the pool and back.  After 50 meters he stood in the pool with his slim upper body flayed on the pool deck like a beached whale.  With his chin on his fury chest and his long arms dragging behind him, he slowly got out of the pool.  I thought I heard the self-defeated man say to himself, “How difficult can this be?”  What did the jack-wagon expect to happen? 

 

You would think the pulchritudinous (I had to look it up in Webster’s myself, it means physical comeliness) man would learn a lesson wouldn’t you?  Not a chance.  The resplendent man still regrets his first bike ride.  “How difficult can this be?”  He says, “I have consulted with experts, found the perfect machine, and emptied my bank account.  I have acquired stunning attire.  If I look good, I will ride far.  Why I bet I can ride 100 miles without any difficulty whatsoever.”  What followed was yet another self confidence shattering attempt.  The dazzling man barley fit his feet into the pedals, spun the wheels feverously for 5 miles, and disgracefully dismounted from the machine.  Turns out the exquisite man’s buns of steel were, quite sadly, not made of steel.  His delicate shoulders slumped.  As he loaded the machine into the car I thought I heard the dejected man say to himself, “How difficult can this be?”  What an idiot.

 

The fairy tale is not all bad.  The ravishing man has managed to make remarkable progress in a relatively short time span.  With a lot of heart and effort, sprinkled with the love a Sweetie, the statuesque man has managed to conquer the swim and be the master of his machine.  A 2 mile swim is becoming a matter of routine and a 100 mile ride is almost boring (well it is boring). 

 

How difficult can this be?   Plenty!