Resiliency and Limits

I'm into my third week of 8 mile runs. When I got up this morning, I had a pain in my right knee.  This actually happens every so often.  Generally, I ignore it and it goes away once I begin my run.  Looking back over the years, I've had a lot of tinges and niggles, as well as outright injuries.  The only thing that would really get in the way of me doing continuous seven day stretches of 8 mile runs is an actual injury.  I haven't even considered the possibility for quite some time.  Interestingly, over the past several years, I've had a variety of musculoskeletal setbacks, though most of them rarely last for more than a few days.  The worst ones were directly related to falling, most of which led to rib injuries.  I haven't even thought about my rib injuries in some time.  I've also had a propensity to throw out my back and hip.  It's been awhile since that's happened.  In fact, one of my favorite injuries is my low back and hip just a few days before an Ironman.  I've go no Ironman races on the horizon right now.

As I write this, the pain in my right knee is dissipating, as is the thought and concern of an injury.  I can't control my body beyond my daily 8 mile runs.  Doing such runs represents and leads to a degree of resiliency that I'm not sure I've ever had.  That's the interesting aspect of training.  You have to break down the body in order to strengthen it. That goes for our muscles and tendons, but probably also goes to our emotional state as well.  Our minds and bodies take what life throws at us, and we heal.  As we heal, we grow stronger, at least that's the general idea.

One of the joys of Ironman training has been getting to really know my mind and body.  You don't know your limits unless you've pushed up against them.  I've never really been one to worry about my limits, always setting bars that either aren't achievable, or are very difficult to achieve.  There are times when that approach can actually be overwhelming, although that's really been a rare feeling.  Our mind really has no limits, if we stop and think about it.  Our minds are as wide as the universe.  Anything is possible.