The aches that follow a workout are a vivid reminder that you pushed hard. But until this week I did not know why that is.

A coach who has been cheering students on for a quarter of a century explained that when you train you are actually causing microtears in your muscles. In demanding your arms and legs to perform more than they usually do, you hurt. Then the body steps in to rebuild torn tissue, leaving it stronger than it was initially.

The coach went on to say that failure is a good thing in sports. It means that you got to your own limit, and your body rose to the challenge. The next time you do push ups, reinforced muscles are capable of increased tenacity. 

Say what? Hurting is good? Hitting a wall is part of progress? 

That puts a whole new spin on pain. 

One time I was reading funny stories about identical twins. There were a pair that figured out how to win a race using their twinness to cheat. One of them ran the first half, and when the track went through a tunnel the other twin took over, refreshed. 

If the goal is being first across the finish line, deceit can be construed as justifiable. But if you are in it to get stronger, you come up a loser.