How far can I push it?

           On August 20^th, I posed a question: Is it possible to be an exercise convert?  I quickly received a lot feedback on Facebook, via texts, and emails.  Most of the responses were things like, “Who is this person and what have you done with my friend/daughter?”  But many others were incredibly encouraging and full of resounding “Yes’!”

            The following day I decided to start biking.  As most people who know me are aware, I don’t do many things small.  I’m either going to completely immerse myself in an endeavor or avoid it completely.  In this case, I decided the only way to answer my question was to throw myself all in.  Much to my surprise, I found I adored biking and used it to discover new places every day.  Then I started pushing myself to bike harder, faster, longer.  And to do it for a minimum of an hour each day.

            On Saturday, I woke up and rode all over my end of James Island.  And when I reached the neighborhood of one of my favorite parks (Sunrise Park, next to the James Island Yacht Club: Hands-down the best panoramic view of Charleston and the harbor), I hopped off my bike, left it by a tree, and started running.  I’m not really sure where the desire to run came from.  I’ve certainly never felt such an urge before.  But after two solid weeks of biking, I actually had the strength and stamina to make it to the park, up the hill, and all the way down to the end of the dock.  That’s when I stopped and took this pic:

I seriously felt super-human.

After running back to my bike, and eventually making it home, I thought, “Now I get it.  I understand why people do this.”

            Sunday morning I woke up at five and decided to bike early.  When I got to the end of my driveway and realized just how dark it was, that I had no lights on my bike, and no way to see the path on Fort Johnson, I made the decision to run.  (I know, it’s probably not that safe to run in the dark either, but at least this way I could stay in my neighborhood.)  My goal was to make it to a stop sign several streets away.  But when I got there, I realized I didn’t need to rest yet.  A few more streets over and I really started to feel the burn.  Then I remembered what my runner-friend Katie told me about hitting that point where you think you can’t possibly go any further and how if you just push through it, you feel a burst and it’s wonderful. 

            She couldn’t have been more spot-on.

            Reaching that point, that gray area where I wasn’t sure if I could do it, and then breaking through, was one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced.  It’s fun, and addictive, and precisely what I need right now (I’ve been experiencing a little writer’s block). 

This morning, I ran twice as far as I did yesterday.  Tomorrow, I might go even farther.  And who knows?  Maybe some other activity will come along that I enjoy just as much.  Now, if I could just design the perfect playlist.