I wore shorts on a windy, 35-degree morning. My legs were nearly as blue as my shirt. But I did it for a reason.
I wanted to feel as much discomfort as I could today.
Don’t get me wrong, the coaches are very capable of bringing plenty of pain. But I wanted a little bit more. I wanted to remind myself what it felt like to suffer. And I wanted to push past it.
See, I’m training for more than just a physical goal. I’m pushing my brain, too. I need to learn to keep pushing when logic tells me to quit. I am learning the ability to shut my mind downs when it screams “quit.”
I’m learning resilience.
So I was cold. But it didn’t last long. Paul LaCoste (who was with us this morning) made sure of that. We did a four-corner drill (running laps around the field with quick-foot ladders, burpees, mountain climbers, thirty yards of bear crawls, 60 push-ups and squat jacks. Then we went to Paul and did motion drills (sprinting backwards and cutting one direction or the other.) We then went into the weight room and then back on the field (and out into the cold) and an up and down the football field. By the time the hour was up, I wasn’t cold any more.
I had accomplished another workout. I had pushed through my discomfort.
Look on either side of you. The person next to you is going through tough times. If you’re not, you will, too.
I froze for an hour. I can handle anything else the next 23 hours throws out at me.
I’m pushing my brain, too. I need to learn to keep pushing when logic tells me to quit. I am learning the ability to shut my mind downs when it screams “quit. Where such information?