The joy of exceeding one's own expectations

Like many people, I am not particularly enamored with exercising but, for reasons of health and weight control, I do my best to make peace with it. I usually exercise 4-5 times per week and vary between aerobic, toning and weight training workouts.

Power walking is my favorite exercise. As noted in my profile, I am a newbie to the music revolution that is iPod. A few months ago, I bought an iPod Nano, and an armband designed for it, so that I could have better musical motivation for walking. I have been downloading music from iTunes and creating different kinds of playlists for walking--the current tunes walk, the classic tunes walk, the I-don't-feel-like-walking-today easy walk and the I-am-woman-hear-me-roar kickass power walk.

Last week, I downloaded two tunes that were beyond the bpm (beats per minute) that I usually walk. One is a faster workout remix of Gwen Stefani's Cool and the other is One Two Three Go by Belanova (iTunes Store links to both are provided at the end of this post). The next day, I walked to the new playlist I'd created which included both songs as the pinnacle of the high energy part of the walk. Cool started and I tried to increase my walking tempo to match the beat. Within 30 seconds, I was thinking "OH MY GAWD! This is too hard! I can't do it!" and shortly thereafter skipped to the next song. I did walk through 1-2-3 Go but at a slower tempo. I was feeling a little defeated, which is never a happy feeling, much less after a workout.

This morning, I tried the same program again. This time, instead of walking in the narrow no-sidewalked neighborhood roads where I often trek, I went out on the open road and walked the bike trail on the shoulder. I am not a big fan of walking while traffic is going by me at 40-50 MPH, but I do it now and then when I want a change of scenery. When Cool started, my brain immediately sent out the "You can't do this, remember?" signal, but I was feeling spunkier today so I said "SHUT UP!" and engaged the I-am-woman-hear-me-roar power walker within.

I was busting ass down this highway, all (nearly) 4'6" of me chugging like a freight train and, the next thing I knew, I had it--I found the rhythm and kept up with it. I made it the whole way through Cool and about halfway through 1-2-3 Go before I had to take my speed back down. When I went back to what I had been walking to before Cool, it feel like cooldown music! WOW, what a great feeling. Even more, I think, than the joy of accomplishing that was the joy of beating back that voice that says "You can't do this."--to keep going...to not give in and give up...to persevere.

Joy is saying "Yes, I can!" when your brain tells you "You can't."

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=270550688&s=143441

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=285990712&s=143441