It's blazing hot here right now. And I mean like, Africa-hotness. And the humidity. Wave a spoon outside and it would probably fill up with water. Perfect day for a workout up in the inner city. If you're a little nutty...and wanting to get away from your three rambunctious children. Put a check mark next to both of those boxes for me today.
I hop in my car and think to myself...sweet freedom. I am out of the house - no kids in tow. And then I realize what I've done. I am driving into the city in 90 degree heat to subject myself to an unforgiving physical grind. I am actually perspiring sitting in my car driving. Sitting still in my seat. Not really moving a muscle. Hmmm. I could divert and go get a pedicure. Toes really need a touch up. Nah. I'm going.
As I get nearer and nearer to the gym, it's getting hotter. Like I am driving toward the surface of the Sun.
I arrive for my 5:30 class met by Coach G. He's a riot...and a good motivator. He's just wrapping up the 4:30 class. Coaching them through the last moments of today's paces. Everyone is moving in s - l - o - w motion. I had already checked out the Workout of the Day before coming. Brutal. But I was not expecting it to be quite like this. Hmm. Good thing I have my nut-job disposition on my side and I didn't really get that nervous.
Class starts. The warm-up is actually a good going-over in its own right. Quarter-mile run. Some weight lifting. Jump rope. (Not the fun, double-dutch variety) THEN - the real stuff. As many rounds as possible or AMRAP in 15 minutes. Three things in each round. As fast as you can. 5 pull-ups, 10 burpees (deadly push-up, jumping jack combo) and 15 squats.
Did I mention the surface of the sun? Did I mention that this is an open-air gym sans air conditioning? I love the basic nature of this gym. No mirrors. No fancy pants locker room. No A.C. Just the equipment. And some large spinning fans. Blowing hot air. Today I wished for a schmidge of the fancy AC.
I was going and going. And then - I got to the point where I really was just spent. 11 minutes into the workout. I was lying on my stomach, chest to the ground, drenched and really just trying to catch a breath. I was so freakin' hot. And tired. And it was hot. Too hot to be doing this workout. I thought, I cannot do this anymore.
Just then - Coach G. called my name. Oh - the shame. He knows my name. "Steph - get UP! Keep it moving. Your mind is telling you right now that you can't do this, but I am telling you. You are STRONG. Dig deep. Your body is built to do this. Trust your body." And he was right. My mind was telling me that I could not do this thing. This test of my physical strength.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and told my body to move. And then it did. And it kept moving. Until the final second ticked off the 15 minute timer.
I did it.
I am not claiming to be some superstar. Or an uber-athlete. Far from that. But I am strong-minded. And I am finding that this whole challenge is strengthening my mind...and my body.
I can come up with logical excuses why something can't happen...too little time, too many commitments, the weather is not ideal, I am too tired. Really. Pick one. They are all solid, valid excuses.
The coach of last night's class had a shirt on that I really liked. It said,
"You can make great excuses or get great results. But you can't have both."
So true.
Tonight. Results won. And I guess, so did I.
No comments:
Post a Comment