I jog 3-4 miles every few days. Sometimes, at the end I sprint a few blocks. Then I really feel like I’ve gone just a bit beyond what I thought I could do. At other times, I run up and down a set of stairs about half way through the run.
Both these efforts take gumption. The mental or psychic effort is difficult to muster. I tend to listen to my body, which usually tells me I just can’t do it. So I command myself to do it.
I gather a force from somewhere inside and pull it into my legs and arms, to where it’s needed to translate the extra will into body power. It’s as if I’m creating something from nothing. But I can usually conjure it, even if I’m tired. Where does it come from?
And the result is not only satisfaction, it’s a high. I’ve broken the mold of expectation, shed the skin of habit, opened up my body and spirit to new possibilities.
Technorati tags- motivation, effort, running, jogging
I completely identify with this Garnet. I don’t run or jog, I don’t even take really long walks anymore but I know what it is to have to push the body into doing what you desire it to do, to go beyond your limitations and the thrill it can give you (even if you pay for it later with some extra aches and pains).
Our little triumphs in life are always worth celebrating. 🙂
Ned, I think this also applies to non physical activities. My style is 110% or about 35%. Nothing in between. It’s like those drivers who are constantly either accelerating or slowing down. I wish I could just be steady, for two days in a row.
Like Ned, I don’t run, having never believed that Nature designed me for such activity. I do, however, walk … a lot. Not as much as I should, no doubt, but maybe five or six miles on a weekend morning and then back home for a shower and lunch. I’ve always thought of it as a pleasure, though, rather than a pain. I enjoy the view, the wild life, the downside of long hills, all of it except cleaning two pairs of walking boots afterwards! I enjoyed this piece, Garnet – felt no pain at all. Thanks.
Hmm, maybe I exercise too much to be a really good poet!