Breakthrough

Yesterday I went for a run with Jeanne after the rainstorm. I love the weather right after the rain, even if it is 1000% humid, because the temp drops to like 72, and the plants are green and dripping. We set out at a faster clip than I usually run, and Jeanne said she wasn't going to let me stop. I was feeling pretty good and doing that thing where I stretch my stride a little longer to jog lower and more level (not so jiggly).

About a mile in, I was feeling the burn in both my sides and my lower calves. Plus my Achilles. I told this to Jeanne and she said, "Well, maybe try not to pay so much attention to it." I said okay and it pretty much worked. My legs would go through waves of adjusting and then flaring up again, but they weren't injuring themselves (as far as I can tell).

I reached utter exhaustion, but with Jeanne talking to me about other shit, I made it all two miles with no walking. We finished with a short loop around Rittner. And of course I felt fantastic when it was over.

This confirms the hunch that I had that I am capable of more than I think. My mind is a crappy judge of what the rest of my body can do.

With that knowledge, I kept up real well in spin class today (even cranking up the resistance on the bike to the amount Mandy called for). I pushed myself in a calm, accepting kind of way and trusted her instructions, and I found that I could do everything she asked us to do and not throw up, cramp up, or pass out. I guess my endurance is starting to improve. My understanding of what I CAN endure is improving, at any rate. We did a teensy bit of preliminary jogging and post-spin "sprinting" (I just did a fast jog) and I did okay with that, too.

Now I just have one decision to make: when I sign up for the race, do I choose "road bike" and use Ben's Raleigh (that he kindly lent me) and keep up with the fast guys, or do I choose "fat tire" and ride my bike with the fat (but now slick) tires and have a possible edge over the real fatties?