Psychological Yoga

I'm learning to be flexible. I'm learning that outside of my expectations, there's room for improvement, room to excel, room to have fun. When I'm trying to flex inside of the box of what I think is supposed to happen, I run out of space, like the guy in Dr. Seuss' One Fish Two Fish... whose bed is way too small. That's not comfortable. I don't want to have to just stick my head out the head hole or my legs out the leg holes.

I won't lie... these setbacks with my ankle have the potential to be heartbreaking enough to send me on a bender where I eat cinnamon rolls with reckless abandon and drink before dinner. But only when appropriate. Not being able to reach my goals in running bites.

On the other hand, my non-running-specific fitness is through the roof. I'm tackling things on the bike I never thought I could or would. Pullup May was a failure in the data-driven world in which I exist. But Pullup 2013 is a huge success; negative pullups are the latest things on my plate, and I can tell real pullups are just around the corner. I'm fine-tuning what I do in the pool, thanks in large part to The Husband's pool torture regimen. While I already had knowledge of what I was supposed to be doing, it's amazing what a difference it makes when your form is at its peak.

My lack of a regimented training plan has proven to be a good thing. I'm able to do fun rides and such I would never have time for if I was seriously training for races. Today, I was lucky to be able to go out and ride easy with good friends, find ourselves lost as last year's Easter egg, talk to animals, grab lunch together, and spend the afternoon hanging out with my little family. The Hobbes-it is learning to act like a chicken... if that won't brighten your day, nothing will.

I was driving back home from Murfreesboro on the interstate, and found myself thinking it's a little strange that just a few hours before, I had been on the other side of the tree line, pedaling along, yelling at some loose cows. The latter is vastly preferable! Increasingly, the bike is one of my favorite places to be. It baffles me that people don't *like* the sense of accomplishment that comes with self propulsion at higher and higher rates of speed. There's nothing like it.

The evolution of my character while stranded on The Island of Limited Running is good. Great. Fantastic.

You've gotta be flexible and uncontained like water. Otherwise you'll be swept away. Or maybe just in a drinking glass. Either way, the consequences are no good. Chase your goals; but be ready to take the path less travelled.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference." - Frost