What can't you get enough of?

Well as most are already aware, I have committed to the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon on September 7th, 2014, I'm excited to do the race. But as important I'm looking forward to the journey. The rigor, discipline and planning that is necessary between now and race day to be ready to compete are exciting for me. The first thoughts about an ironman race began shortly after going to Kilimanjaro in January. Much to the dismay of my wife, summiting that mountain wasn't an end point but a brief stop along what I hope is a long and winding trail.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, and leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
- Edward Abbey

So my next stop is IM Wisconsin, and onward from there. The physical and mental discipline of endurance activity is very compelling to me. I've routinely sought out these experiences for the last 15 years. Some relevant quotes that I really like on the topic include:

Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.
- Scott Jurek

Real alpinists know how to turn off their head...The mind is too fickle. Optimistic one minute, pessimistic the next, pitching back and forth like a rowboat on big seas. Not the body. The body doesn't exaggerate or self-deprecate or play mindgames. The body is a machine, a realist...The body is an animal. It moves and lives only in the present.
- Mark Jenkins

This is the draw for me. I've no particular physical gifts of size, speed, or strength. But my mind is strong and I can suffer physically. I can "turn off my head" when it is too fickle and let my body be the machine. At the end of the bell curve is where I find "sources of strength" and a certain peace. The fleeting package of achievement, serenity, and strength is the "high" I want to experience over and over.

What about you? What draws you? What can't you get enough of? Have you organized yourself and your life around them? A parting thought...

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory or defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt