Last night, I limped my sore self to my martial arts fitness class. I explained to the instructor that my determined tendencies to get in shape have brought me there, but with the recent fall in my driveway will limit me in my performance in class as well as some of the exercises will be changed to accommodate because of it. She was happy to hear that I was there and proud of my willingness to go to class when others would have chosen to skip it completely. She even offered me alternatives as well as checked on me to see if I was doing okay. Kind-of surprised me, though, since she is a tough-as-nails 6th degree black belt in both Taekwondo as well as Gumdo (swords), and I never really pegged her for being all that compassionate when it comes to physical fitness. Well, she does happen to be a mother of 3 boys, so she had to have some compassion in her, right? I just figured that since I am terribly out of shape that she would be tougher on me.
I guess the being tough on a person runs in my family more than hers because DD decided to give me grief about my less than stellar endurance when it comes to exercise in last week's class.... especially when it comes to running. I am just not a runner. If someone saw me running down the street... they better check to see who is chasing me. I do not run for pleasure... I run for purpose.... to get away. Since DD and I are taking this class together, she obviously has far more energy than I do and can endure the class. I know she pushes herself in that class and puts in her 110%. Her last words to me before class began is that she has high expectations for me and I need to try even harder. I should be proud that she believes I can do better, but I am not because I am struggling to meet the high expectations placed before me and I am not seeing the finish line anytime soon.
The difference between her and I when it comes to endurance and power is clear. She has bursts of energy that stay true for a period of time and then she crashes into a lump of flesh. I, on the other hand, stay at a level pace and takes far longer to become a lump of flesh. I see this as the story of the turtle and the rabbit. You remember that story, right?
The rabbit, sure and fast, challenges the turtle to a race. As the race begins, the rabbit takes off at a fast clip, leaving the turtle in their dust. With the huge gap between racers, the rabbit takes a break and rests at the base of a tree while the turtle keeps trekking on. When the rabbit wakes from his nap, he ends up losing the race because the slow and steady turtle kept going and never quit, thus crosses the finish line while the rabbit tries to push even harder to pass the turtle again to win for falling so far behind. Motto of the story: slow and steady wins the race.
That is what I am seeing here. With the less intense running to start the class, I was able to endure the whole class. Of course, I walked the first 10 minutes of class with weights in my hands. I focused more on strength in the class and controlled movements. I still was sweating like a whore in church when I was finished. That was my eye opening moment. I had a hard time with kicking, running and leg work with the resistance bands. In fact, I went really easy on myself, but still woke up this morning, sore from head to toe.
I can either attribute this to doing the exercises in a more controlled manner, which benefited me far greater than pushing far too hard and fast.... or I am just in far worse shape than I figured and I have a far longer path to take to get back to being physically strong and in shape (other than round). Sadly, I am leaning towards the latter of the two. With trying to remain positive (which is very hard these days), I can only hope that I can be like the turtle and win the race at my steady, albeit slow, pace. According to some internet research.... the odds are good. Maybe I can make DD proud of me. It will just take far longer than her expected time frame.
Well, time to make some oatmeal for breakfast and chip away some of the housework I need to accomplish. My house does not clean itself. Thanks for reading.
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