Capabilities

Day 14: 3 miles on the treadmill at the Kerr Y.

I didn't think I had three miles in me today.  Mondays and Wednesdays are X Train days for me which means an hour of putting my body through a series of circuits.  Today's hour:
100 jump rope
20 warrior lunges with a 25 lb. plate
20 thrusters with barbell
20 burpees/push-ups
5 times through a hurdle series--Right side jumps, left side jumps, forward jumps

This all comes after a good warm-up and we all needed a longer-than-usual cool-down at the end of the hour.  Howard, who teaches Wednesdays, usually includes a good amount of power lifting and squats, two things that I struggle to do at a basic level.  Howard's a great coach and regularly offers advice and encouragement which makes me feel like less of a screw-up as I see the other women and men in the class work through their squats and lifts with ease.  I always enter class timid and nervous about what's in store and I always leave class feeling like I accomplished something.  As Howard says at the beginning of each class, his job is to make us work harder than we think we can and our job is to pace ourselves.  The two ideas seem at odds with one another until the hours past and the balance of pace and push can be felt in every muscle.

So how did I manage three miles after working hard just a few hours earlier?  I planned on running a quick mile to be done with it for the day.  I needed to start dinner and, truthfully, I wanted to sit on the couch for a bit.  But at the one mile mark my muscles felt strong so I decided to go for two.  At the two mile mark it just made sense to make it three.  I could have kept it up for one or two more but I ran out of time.  The energy I had surprised me and reminded me of a conversation I had with Sam, a Y member, earlier today about real and perceived limits we have when it comes to running and exercise.  We got to talking about marathons, triathlons and Iron Man races.  While we both acknowledged the mental aspect of endurance races we were also able to acknowledge our unashamed lack of motivation for such events.

I think it's important to know my limits and to stop before I've gone too far.  I credit this awareness for my lack of injury (knocking on wood furiously) in the past year as I've made changes to my lifestyle.  Without it I'd surely end up with twisted ankles, pulled back muscles and an assortment of other ailments.  But limits are meant to be tested and I am sure in the next year I'll find a way to put myself to the task.

Ryan