Saturday, May 2, 2015

Sanity Over Speed



I may be crazy but it keeps me from going insane. -Waylon Jennings

In my last update, I extolled the virtues of surrounding yourself with people who challenge you. In this post I'd like to add some constraints to that wisdom.

Yes, it's definitely important to be challenged, so finding people who challenge us is a great thing provided they're not also trying to kill us.

As I pointed out in my last post, I was challenged  by a group of 8 strangers, who are  Fitbit users, to a "Workweek Hustle" where all contestants measure their progress against that of the others in the group. There's some good news and bad news to report. 

First the good news. I logged over 63,000 steps in 5 days. That's more steps than I've logged since 2010 all added together. I burned copious calories, walked many, many miles and came in second in the challenge. Yay me!

Now for the bad news. My body hates me. In my race to the finish against people who, for all I know, are 20 years old and already at peak fitness, I overdid it big time. The result is that today, by 2:17 p.m.  I've logged a total of 1086 very painful steps. I'll probably lose ground today instead of gaining ground. Compound that with the possibility that I've scared off my sister - by best competition of all - and it's definitely been a win/lose experience.

Text from sister: I can't keep up your "young" pace. (This from the sister who is a mere 11 months older than me.)

Text to sister: I can't keep up with my young pace! 

All in all, I'm glad I did it. It taught me a few important lessons (that I'll appreciate a lot more when I can move again.)

1. Some things can't be rushed. Fitness is one of them. I can get thin quickly, but not healthily and at my age health is more important that pant size.

2. If I'm going to accept a challenge, know who and what I'm up against. It was really silly to beat myself up to impress people I will never even meet. I had no way of knowing how our fitness levels matched up or any other facts that would have made my decision to participate more informed.

3. I have to be careful what I say yes to. Once I commit, I'm in. It should have been easy enough to say "No big deal, this isn't working out for me." and gone back to my own workable pace but nooooo. That's not how I operate. I'm great about keeping promises to other people - not so much myself sometimes.

4. Know when I have a good thing going. My competition with my sister and niece was  already keeping me on my toes and making me stretch. I'd have avoided rigor mortis if I'd let myself improve gradually and wouldn't have lost a day to recovery.

While it's been said:
 
No man is sane who does not know how to be insane on proper occasions. 
-G.B. Burgin 

I think I'll be wiser going forth in choosing my "crazy" moments.

On an up note: My clothes are getting looser, I'm sleeping like a champ, I'm able to do a lot more with less effort, and I have more energy than I've had in a long time. (That's not to say I've reached "Energizer Bunny" levels yet, but hey, I can dream right?)

So I'm going to end this check in with my new mantra: 

It doesn't matter what speed you run, just run! - Medana Cox 

(or walk as the case may be.)

Till next time you'll find me limping to the finish line!  

2 comments:

  1. I think Medana Cox gets me. :)
    I agree with challenging ourselves constantly and being deliberate in who we spend time with. People who challenge us helps us become better.

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    1. i agree Lux! Just going to be saner in the future. :)

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