Sober Labrador Triathlons

When Thurber, my yellow Labrador, was a puppy, my first responsibility was to teach him not to go to the bathroom in the house. I had a simple idea: wear him out. We went out to the backyard and ran sprints; we went for a run in the neighborhood; we went for a swim in the Bay; I threw a palm frond which Thurber obligingly ran down, grabbed in his mouth and shook. Then we played tag.

When he got tired, we went inside and had a long drink of water (he from his bowl, me from my glass) and then he was asleep instantly with no thought of making a mistake. He lay with his tongue hanging out, dreaming puppy dreams. When he woke up, we were out in the backyard again, running, playing, wrestling and swimming. Thurber was house trained within a couple weeks.

I visited Sober College in Los Angeles again this week. I met with Ken, the athletic director, a man who exudes energy, commitment and ability. By comparison, Ken makes the best motivational speakers you’ve ever heard look like they just don’t care. I am pretty well convinced that Ken could persuade the sun not to shine. Ken introduced me to some of his young people and we all did a triathlon together. (I swim like a stone so I only did the running part.) After swimming a quarter mile in bracing (read: “icy”) water, the young people jumped on their bicycles for an invigorating 12 mile ride followed by a five kilometer run. By the end, they were exhausted. Doubtless they would have liked to relax but Ken—did I mention the man never stops moving?—rounded them up, put them in a van and drove off. To soccer practice. “I’m sorry we can’t stay and chat more,” he said. “But we have to get to practice on time because later this afternoon we’re going to the gym.”

Sober College is not “Celebrity Rehab” replete with sushi chefs, Jacuzzis and cucumbers on the eyes. Sober College is about hard work—individual therapy, group therapy, confrontation and insight. The model is to help young people address their issues and help them choose a sober lifestyle. There are moments in the life of any recovering addict when the thought of going back to using is attractive and enticing. Those are the moments when support—in group therapy or on the bike course—is most critical.

Many addicts talk about using when they are bored, stressed, unhappy or unhealthy. “It’s this downward spiral,” Stan, a 23 year-old who had been sober for a year reflected. “I would smoke some pot, stay up late, ignore my homework, eat some ice cream. I’d feel bad about myself, so I’d skip class, smoke some more pot, eat some more ice cream. “I’d keep promising myself that tomorrow I’d get to bed on time, get up for class, eat healthy, get to the gym, take care of my body, my mind, and my soul. Of course until I made the decision to get into rehab, I never did.

“There was no time to use. We were always doing something.”

Like shepherds, I hear about high functioning addicts more than I see them. They’re on TV—adults who use drugs and still take care of work and family—but I don’t meet them in my practice. I would never suggest that a recovering addict has anything in common with a Labrador puppy. But maybe there is something to be learned from the paradigm of being too busy to use drugs or alcohol.

I’d love to hear what you think—either in the response box below or out on the triathlon course.