I spent most of the evening nursing my back. Lovely. I was in so much pain that I nearly forgot about my commitment to appear on New Eden Radio. I’m glad I remembered. It turned out to be a really fun time, and I had the welcome surprise of sharing some on air time with one Sindel Pellion. Delightful woman, as always. 

The rest of my night was spent trying to sleep on a back that simply wouldn’t relax. I was awake at least once per hour all night long.

0535

I was awake anyway, so up and to the gym I went. I took an old friend of mine with me, big D, for motivational support and to be there in case I screwed up. He was someone I trusted to know what to do.

Big D wasn’t a capsuleer, but he had served his time in the Republic militia as an Orbital Drop Trooper, you know, one of those crazy bastards that jumps out of atmosphere scraping dropships, plunging roughly 140,000 km to the planet’s surface, breaking the speed of sound, only to use repulsion technology at 500 feet to somehow land intact. Not for me thanks.

I also used Big D as my anchor. I’ll be honest with you. I was scared. My back was incredibly tender. I hadn’t slept. It was Arms & Abs – everything involving your back in some way. I could feel my accelerated heartbeat in my throat – I was genuinely concerned about screwing myself up.

Let me be clear on something. Even ol’ Roc knows fear from time to time. Whether it’s facing down impossible odds in the ether, or worrying about damaging your existing clone, we all are afraid sometimes.

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing it anyway.

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We had a fantastic workout together. My form was forcibly the tightest it’s ever been, and my arms were completely engorged and pumped. My back was still tender, but not more so than when I started. In fact, I think the small amounts of exertion that managed to creep their way into my back helped with stretching and recovery. The rest of the day will verify or disprove that theory.

Still, I did it, and I did it well. Never back down from challenges. Persevere. Be smart. Train right. Train hard.