The Toolbox

I remember when I was a kid, I always had these grand designs about things I wanted to build with wood and the like. I wanted to build possum boxes, bows and arrows and other things that turned out looking like anything but. In hindsight, I should have set out to build a monstrosity instead, then I would have actually built something I intended to build. Nevertheless, I would always have a go even if I had no idea what I was doing. Obviously my parents never let me play with power tools, so the only tool I had was this old artifact that bared some resemblance to a hammer. It was about half the size of a conventional hammer and made with only one ingredient, solid steel. Dad use to always ramble on about this hammer; that he made it back when he was in the Army and that he was really proud of it, to which I was always thinking 'whatever old man'. This hammer and I saw through many tough times, times like when I would try and hammer a screw into something and would wonder why it wouldn't budge after a few hits. I guess I didn't know what a screw driver was. But one grim and desolate day, this hammer unfortunately was lost into oblivion in the realm of deceased tools, which left Dad and I pretty sad.

A valuable lesson ultimately came out of this. As I wanted to keep making useless articles, Dad went out and bought me another hammer along with a tape measure. My uncle who is also a builder bought me a tool belt and a few other little things on a trip he took me on down to the hardware store. Being the consumer I am, I kind of wanted every bloody tool and was always demanding more. The lesson was that tools are something that you build up over time, until you have somewhat like a buffet meal of tools lined up in front of you by the time your an old man like my Dad or my uncle.

Like my hammer which I used drive nails into wood, I kind of feel that I have raced a lot like a hammer with the philosophy of just going hard with no regrets. However sometimes it never worked out, leaving me like the times I miserably tried to hammer the screws into the wood.

I guess my prophecies of my last post descended into oblivion like my old hammer. With my favourite tool tucked away in it's box at Oceania's on the weekend, I was ultimately forced into an attempt to expand my tool box a little, and try to extend beyond the dynamism of my sacred tool.

The swim was rough and brutal, it was more like a competition to see who could drink more salt water than each other. With salt water not my preference of beverage, I spent most of the time trying to work my way up to the front with a bitter taste in my mouth and my mind. I noticed there was a guy wayyyy down the line about 30 seconds up, and I knew this is where I should have been but had ultimately failed to do so. I think the salt water drinking derby at the start left most of the field bunched up, with all the main players exiting the water together for a stroll around the 40k bike. A few break attempts were made, but every attempt failed. I tried to stay out of the wind and get my running tool ready, which I later struggled to pull out of my box until about 6k into the run when I found my legs. I still managed to snag 5th in u23's with a decent run split, which is nothing to be disappointed about.

For an indefinite amount of time I will need to sharpen and refine the tools I already have and try to acquire some of the elusive tools I do not have. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to find out what tool I'm going to have to draw at the Mooloolaba World Cup in 12 days time. Hopefully I'll have it in my box!

Josh