Sun, sweat and thirst-quenching beers
I spent the last week in Spain playing beach volleyball with about 60 other participants at a yearly camp I go to. It has most of the elements I love about life – warmth, sun, people, movement and something you can work on, improve but also enjoy and share with others.
The trainers work us pretty hard at the camp, so there is not much room for partying as such, and most go to bed relatively early. But in between sets and games, a lot of people still choose to indulge in a beer or two. Over a day, it all adds up.
I watched with curiosity as many of them, almost on autopilot, always asked if anyone had a beer, or if someone was going on a kiosk run, and could bring some back. It wasn’t to party or get wasted – it was just the de facto thirst quencher in the sun. The day after, most people felt tired and sluggish, and, not wrongly, attributed this to three hours of beach volley training and two hours of matches afterwards. But none of them talked about the five beers they drank during the day, or the glass of red wine they had at night.
I recognize the pattern in myself. Not long ago, if in a similar situation, I would also soothe my parched throat with an ice-cold beer in the sand. I can’t deny how good that can taste and feel. But these days I always seem to come back to a simple question: Is it worth it? Do I want to feel that sluggishness the day after, even just a little bit? The slow morning, the slight headache, a body moving just that tiny bit off throughout the first half of the day. Or would I rather have water or something more neutral, and know that when I get up tomorrow, even though my muscles will be sore and overworked, I’ll still be in a very different place than if I’d had a few beers?
What am I missing here? What do these beers give me that I need?