Limits

I love the feeling of coming in after a run, totally spent, soaking wet, tired as hell, yet feeling completely invincible. We're always told to "reach for the stars" and "there are no limits"... but there are limits. Maybe with the right preparation we can do anything, but there are in fact limits to what I can and cannot do. This has been a huge theme the last new few months and something that I've been thoroughly learning.

When I hurt my ankle last month, I learned that I can in fact overwork my muscles. After MCM I was scared my how my body was shaking and how dangerous it can be if you don't eat, drink, and keep warm after pushing your body to do more than you ever trained for. I learned that the unexpected, one stupid tree root, can keep me off my feet for a week (I think I broke my baby toe. I know, lamest injury ever). I recently ended a relationship (not that kind of relationship relationship) that I decided I just couldn't do anymore. I wanted it, but it wasn't best for me. The idea sounded right in my head, but I wasn't actually capable of it. I learned that I do, in fact, have limits.

No, this doesn't mean I'm backing out on my 100-mile race, it means that I need to make sure I am totally prepared for it and be willing to back off if I don't think I can do it. And, I'm not getting my heart set on 2:58 at Boston yet, I'm going to see how training goes first because, that's really, really fast. I think the ability of taking lessons learned from one part of your life and applying them to another is a difficult, but useful tool and at 22, I should start practicing.