To the Limit

Where is the limit and how do I get there? I have been asking myself this question for a long time. I think I am finally working on getting there. I would say most people have no idea what their limit is and I am one of them. Aside from elite athletes, most of us have not put in the time and dedication to push ourselves to reach our limit.

When I am running, I seem to improve from week to week, sometimes from day to day. Obviously this means I am not even close to my limit. I would say that I have never even reached a true plateau.

Today's run was one of those times when I was assured I have way more to offer than I realize. As you know I bumped the Monday challenge to today. The first week was 12 minutes at 9 mph and it was hard. Last week was 15 minutes at 9 mph and it seemed unbearable at times, but I made it. This week I was shooting for 19 minutes. I got started and decided to go as long as possible without looking at the time. I was nervous because I knew the pain I was about to put myself through. I made it to just over 8 minutes without looking. Realizing I was only half way was tough on the psyche. I kept on going and at around 12 minutes, I strongly considered stopping. I told myself that I at least had to match the 15 minutes from last week. It was then that I thought I was crazy for thinking I could improve that much in just a week. These are the thoughts that hold you back when running.

I have thought a lot today about how hard it is for me to really push myself to the limit. When it starts getting tough I usually do one of 3 things, stop, slow down, or speed up. The first two make a lot of sense, but why the third? Well, I have the answer. When I speed up, I feel like I push myself to the limit because I reach an unbearable place where I am forced to stop. The tough thing to do does not fall into one of those categories, but instead to continue at current pace and push through the pain. This is what I must teach my body and mind to do. So much of the pain is mental, and it is amazing what you can accomplish by focusing on your technique and breathing instead of the pain.

I reached 15 minutes this morning and of course thought, why stop now? I had discovered that a larger slightly more bouncy stride was making the run substantially easier. So I told myself, 19 minutes here I come. Something else I do when I am trying to get my mind off the pain is count down backwards from 30. I do this as slow as I can. Sometimes counting on every 5th or 6th step, sometimes slower. Today I did it slow enough that when I looked down the treadmill read 19:04. Well, why stop now? I decided to go for a 5K. It took me 20:47. (As I have discussed before, that is not accurate. I would say I ran the 5K a good minute faster then that, but that is what I get for running on a treadmill.) I could have kept going, but I stopped. I am not really sure why. I think it was because I wanted to be able to better my performance again next week and I was afraid if I pushed it too far it would be really difficult. Well, I already think it is going to be tough, but I know I have it in me.

I came across an advertisement for Pearl Izumi that I think sums up my thoughts for the day...

If all we want to do is feel good about ourselves, jogging is the ticket. It doesn't challenge us. It doesn't test us. It doesn't exact a physical or psychological toll. Worst case scenario is, jogging may cause mild perspiration on color-coordinated sweat suits. But if we're willing to push ourselves into uncharted territory, a place littered with broken bodies and remnants of the human psyche, running may be what we're looking for. Without question, it dishes out more heaping helpings of humble pie than any sport we know of. Little wonder that so few people have the testicular fortitude to lace up and run like an animal.

Today's run:
6.1 miles
2 mile warm up
20:47 @ 9 mph on treadmill
1 mile cool down