push

My female owner went beyond what she thought she could do today, in terms of physical exercise.

Her original Thursday exercise routine was to walk to and fro work, covering 4.8km in an hour.

Today, she added in an evening jog with her jogging buddies. She expected “the usual round” but ended up going about twice the distance, at a faster pace than her previous jog.

Unexpectedly, she actually went longer and faster. About 50mins of jogging, covering about 8km (it’s hard to gauge) in all. She probably walked a total of 200m in all that distance.

Pushing herself was not easy. At times, her brain just zoned out, and she got into auto-pilot mode. She feared to stop, coz if she did, she might not be able to start again. At other times, she could hear her legs cursing her brain (“darn! Why did you decide to run? Look who’s doing all the hard work!”). She also refused to visualise the distance she had to cover, choosing to yah, zone out. Visualisation often discourages her.

What kept her going? A clear, non-negotiable goal (decided by her buddies who did not consult her), team spirit (everyone was like-minded, so how can she skive right?), verbal encouragement (she knew she “can do it” but somehow, hearing it from someone else is better than self-persuasion), role-modelling (she saw her friends happily jogging but yet was given space to go at her own pace, hence she was inspired but yet, felt little pressure) and periodical pacing (which pushed her pain barriers).

She’s not sure if she can do it (of course she can!) again but for now, its time to nurse her sore left calf and prepare her body for another 4.8km walk tomorrow.