Pushing Your Boundaries

Alfred Pennyworth: Know your limits, Master Wayne.
Bruce Wayne: Batman has no limits.
Alfred Pennyworth: Well, you do, sir.
Bruce Wayne: Well, can't afford to know 'em.
Alfred Pennyworth: And what happens on the day that you find out?
Bruce Wayne: Well, we all know how much you love to say "I told you so."
Alfred Pennyworth: On that day, Master Wayne, even I won't want to. Probably.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a huge fan of Batman.  I'm not one of these Johnny Come-lately Batman fans either, you know the ones that love Batman because "teh Lejur Joker wuz AWSUM!!!1!"  Not only do I love Batman, but the above quote is particularly relevant to today's topic.  I was in the gym earlier this week and I decided that I was going to find out how strong I am and answer a burning question that my wife has been asking for the past few weeks all in one fell swoop.

I was doing my normal leg workout and went into my deadlifts.  I was going to keep adding weight and reducing the repetitions until I could not lift anymore weight.  On the last attempt, I got the weight off the ground and got about halfway through the repetition before I decided I needed to back off and give it another shot.  I dropped the weight and felt a little dizzy, but I was determined to get that weight off the floor.

I came back to the lift and settled into my starting position.  I rolled the bar toward my shins, took a few deep breaths and exploded up, knowing that weight was coming with me.  It was going good and I was struggling it up slowly, but then I started to get dizzy again.  I kept pushing and got the bar to about mid-thigh.  It was at this point that my vision started to blur and I felt myself starting to lose consciousness.  I immediately dropped the weight.  I got the weight up, but I sacrificed the rest of my work out for it.  I altered the rest of my plan to reduce the amount of cardiovascular stress I put on myself and the amount of strength required.  I got a decent workout, but not quite the type of workout I would normally get.

It was good to get that weight up, feel strong and play meat head for a little while, but it got me thinking, is it really good to push past your limits like that?  Was it worth sacrificing the majority of my strength in that one movement just to break through a barrier?  Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly thought so.  Anybody that has ever seen Steve Prefontaine's race from the 1972 Munich Olympics knows that he thought so also.  To paraphrase Arnold, that willingness to endure the pain and push through your limits is what makes a champion.

I often (semi) jokingly refer to myself as Batman.  That moment that I tested my limits and my desire was the first time I really felt I could reach the epitome of human capability like my hero.  I know that I'm nowhere near that level and part of that has been because of my training.  While I don't believe you should push yourself to the point where you're ready to pass out in every workout, you should push your comfort levels.  After that experience with the deadlifts, I came to the realization that my workouts, while still challenging, are not "hard."

What do I mean?  I mean my workouts still make me sweat and I work ward, but I'm not pushing myself.  When I went on my last run, I had run two miles out of a six mile run and I wasn't breathing heavy nor was sweating really hard.  I kept a solid sub-8:00 pace, so it's not like I was running slow, but I wasn't out there pushing the boundaries of my abilities.  The same can be said of my strength days, well except leg day maybe.  I'm getting stronger and I work hard, but I'm not really pushing my boundaries.  Today, I went to the gym, worked chest and back and I really pushed myself.  I was really happy with it and I was happy with my workout.

So, what am I saying?  I'm not saying you should go into the gym and try to make yourself pass out or vomit every time, like Arnold suggests.  However, I would recommend getting yourself to that level just below.  Barriers are broken with effort.  You will never improve and achieve your goals by constantly maintaining and coasting through workouts.  If you want to achieve your goals you have to be willing to tolerate that pain.  At some point, not only must you be willing to accept pain, but you have to be willing to seek out the pain. It's like the shirt says "Pain is just weakness leaving the body." 

On a completely unrelated note, my wife answered a questionnaire from Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, the ladies behind Another Mother Runner.  I may not be a mother runner, but I thought it was a cool list, so I decided to poach it.  Besides, if their goal is to make this go viral why would that preclude me from participating.  Anyway, I figured this would be a good way to close today's blog.  Without further adieu, here's the list.

1. Best run ever:

It was about three months ago.  It was a beautiful summer evening and it seemed like everything was perfect.  I kept a great pace and it was just one of those times where I felt like I could run forever.  I wish all runs could be like that.

2. Three words that describe my running:

I GOTTA POOP!

3. My go-to running outfit is:

Shirtless, black shorts, red shoes and my phone.

4. Quirky habit while running:

I clench my toes.

5. Morning, midday, evening:

I don't really have a preference.  Whenever it's not too hot or cold, really.

6. I won’t run outside when it’s:

Lightning.

7. Worst injury—and how I got over it:

Three way tie. 

My groin/lower ab injury - I trained around it.  I limited crunches and strengthened my stabilizing muscles.

Shin splints - I switched to the Kinvara 2s and altered my training regimen.  Best. Shoe. Ever.

Back injury - Still working through it.   I train around it.

8. I felt most like a badass mother runner when:

Well, I'm not quite a mother runner, but probably when I finished Spartan.

9. Next race is:

Baltimore Half-Marathon

10. Potential running goal for 2013:

Finish the Mid-Atlantic Super Spartan in under 2 hours.  Maybe do a Spartan Beast.  I'd love to do the one in Killington, VT.