I went out for my trail run yesterday morning.. it's about 4.5 miles through the trails of Hollis and it's an awesome run. Streams, hills, fields, boulders and granite to jump on.. I absolutely love it.. But today was probably the toughest run I've had. I've been fighting off some chest congestion (I'm not going to call it a cold because I think i've won the battle and it never really set in) and I had kind of a hard time breathing. This coupled with the 20 degree winter chill and it was like i was sucking air through a straw. I was really struggling and then my vision started to go. I started seeing a lot of white light, like swirling rectangles.. It was kind of like a bunch of spinning Spongebobs with light coming out of his pores.. It's hunting season so I looked myself over to see if maybe I'd been shot by a hunter. I kept trudging on, figuring it would pass.. I came to the first steep hill of the run and I went from feeling like I might have been shot by a hunter, to wishing a hunter would just shoot me and put me out of my misery. It was absoutely awful.. At this point I knew that at the top of the hill there was a shortcut back. But at this point in my life I've trained myself to the point that this is not an option. I would finish the run regardless of how badly I was doing. This is the type of mentality you develop by pushing yourself past your limits on a regular basis. The shortcut was there, but i didn't consider it for a second. Along the way I got my vision back but I was still sucking wind through a straw. I got to the point about halfway where the 40" granite monument is that I like to do plyometric jumping on. I had decided beforehand that I would finish the run but didn't have the lung capacity to do the jumps today. As I was passing the granite monument I could swear I heard it call me a wimp or something.. So I turned around and went back to it. This rock has taken it's share of blood and skin out of my shins and with a tender hip flexor from 100 pistols and some plyometric jumps a couple days ago I would have been smart to have just kept running.. But, again, the way my mind works now this just isn't an option. I stuck my first jump and added a second just for kicks and then headed on my way. I finished the run a little slower than normal, but I finished.
The reason I'm writing this is because I want people to understand what it takes to get yourself in the best shape you've ever been in. You have to constantly push yourself. It's hard, and sometimes it really sucks, but it's necessary. It's not easy. If you want easy, then stick to the elliptical machine and weight machines that only make you work one or two muscles at a time while you crank out your 10 reps. If you want to get in shape, then you have to be ready to work your whole body and you have to be ready to work it hard. And when it hurts, you have to continue to push through it. You have to be able to push yourself out of your comfort zone and into a zone that's really uncomfortable.. But then again, if it was easy, everybody would be in great shape.
The people who are getting the most out of the workouts at the gym are the ones who push themselves to their limits every time they come in. When we do interval sessions, they work like hell for the entire interval. They do this despite the heart rate which is approaching 100% max and despite the pain they're feeling. They push out one last burpee or squat thruster because it makes them stronger. The benefits are there for those who are willing to push themselves to that level. The people coming to Dynamic Strength and Conditioning have more energy than before, they're stronger and leaner than before, they're happier and more confident than before. It's a wonderful thing to see.
All the best,
Kevin
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