I wanna stand up, I wanna let go...*

Fear not -- this is not becoming a blog about exercise and weight loss.  While these are things that are on my mind these days, that's not the point here.  However, this post is going to belie the above statement.  Oh well.

Over the last few years I have done a lot of work on the internal.  I wouldn't say I am the poster child for self-esteem but I am definitely much more confident in my own skin...who I am and what I am capable of doing.  I have done a lot of work on my spiritual self.  I spent many, many years feeling like I didn't have a spiritual center or home and I can say with a great deal of comfort (and certainty) that isn't the case any longer.

But how I take care of my physical being?  Well, that could use a lot of work.  So work we are doing.  In light of that, this evening I found myself at the gym.  There was a period of time when I worked out 5 to 6 times a week.  It's been a loooooooooong time since we've been there.  But right now I am 2 for 2 days and that's a good thing.  I have noted a few things in the last few days:

1. I never really want to go to the gym but I am never sad when I am finished.  In fact, I generally feel really great.
2. Music makes a HUGE difference.  I did some work on my exercise playlist last night and today was easier.  I did skip over some songs but that was mostly because the tempo didn't match what I was doing at that moment, not because I didn't want to hear it.
3. A little discomfort while doing something will not kill me.  Today I was doing a 30 minute program on the elliptical.  I wanted to quit after about 10 minutes because I was "tired".  I kept going through the whole thing.  I was totally spent when I was done but I felt so accomplished.

Now these points really don't have a ton to do with exercise so much as they do with life.  

1. I often don't want to do tough things but I am very rarely sorry I did them when they were done.
2. Music makes a HUGE difference.  Enough said.
3. A little discomfort will not kill me.  Not in the gym, not in the office, not out in the world.  Doing my best will make me feel accomplished.  That's universal.

Today I was watching a video that a friend of mine had posted on her blog about 2 years ago.  It is a video from the end of the Ironman Florida competition in 2009.  If you are not familiar with the Ironman races, they are a triathlon - but not just any triathlon.  In an Ironman, the participants complete 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on a bike and then a marathon - which is 26.2 miles.  And you do this in one day...all in a row.  You have 17 hours to do it.  The winner at the 2010 World Championship in Kona, Hawaii finished in 8 hours and 10 minutes.  

Ironman is one of those things that in theory totally appeals to me.  It's tough -- I mean, crazy tough and it is an accomplishment that parallels few other things.  I went through a period where I read dozens of IM race recaps and found myself in tears for almost all of them.  The reality is that I don't think I have nearly the drive for an IM to do it.  Never say never, of course but it hasn't made my life list and I would be WAY more surprised doing it than not.  That being said...this video?  Well, let's just say it helped keep me on the treadmill this evening.

 

Ironman Florida 2009 at Midnight from Ray Maker on Vimeo.

What keeps you from doing the tough thing?

*"All These Things That I've Done" - The Killers

Comments

[cailen]

i totally agree that music helps! tho my all-time favorite is yoga. i find it does wonders for my mind, body and soul : )

cheers!
cailen
www.cailenascher.blogspot.com

[Amanda]

Yoga is one of those things that I want to love. I really and truly do. I have tried it a bunch of times and it just is...meh. Perhaps it is time to give it another try!

[Tara]

This video just got my heart racing. This is what I was meant to do. Thank you for the reminder!

[Deanna]

Amanda, I can relate to this.

1-I often don't want to do tough things but I am very rarely sorry I did them when they were done.
2-Music makes a HUGE difference. Enough said.
3-A little discomfort will not kill me. Not in the gym, not in the office, not out in the world. Doing my best will make me feel accomplished. That's universal.

These are truths for life, for all of us.

If you haven't connected with yoga, perhaps you just haven't found the right instruction. Who teaches you makes all the difference, and it's very personal. Keep trying.

Check out Marianne, I've heard great things about her: http://marianne-elliott.com/courses/