Mile in under seven minutes!

[breakinglight11]

On Monday I went for a run through the cemetary, since I didn't have a workout and I didn't have a lot of time. It was the first warm (or warmer, as it was only forty-five or so) day I'd gone running in a while, so, without the threat of those cold-air-induced asthma-like symptoms, I decided to challenge myself. Normally, given how cold it's been, I take it at a fairly easy jog, so that I can make it there and back without my lungs siezing. But this time I wanted to see just how fast I could take it.

So I set a timer, and took off. I always have a bit of a mental block against going physically all-out; I'm always afraid I'm going to burn myself out before I finish whatever challenge I'm trying to get through, so my instinct is to ration my energy. But I wanted to see where I was at the top of my capability.

I was pleased to find I did really well! I made it from gate to gate in just under seven minutes! Better than I thought I would do, especially since technically that span is actually 1.1 miles, and it's all up and down hills. I used the downhills to speed me, of course, but I also had the ups to contend with, so it averages out. I usually do it in around nine, so that's a heck of a difference. It made me feel strong.

I've also been doing well with my ballet dancing. I've been a bit concerned, as my schedule has required me to miss so many classes lately, but I seem to be dancing well every time I have made it. Ballet is difficult and takes years and years, so I wouldn't say I've gotten to the point where I'm good, but I do see definite improvement in myself and am gaining in strength, precision, and balance. I joke that I have moved on to be able to attempt to fix more of my inadequacies than I was before. Until recently I'd struggled so hard just to do things like maintain balance and keep my legs' form that my problems with my shoulders were basically a lost cause. Whenever I'm tense or focusing, my shoulders go up around my ears, but ballet shoulders must be "relaxed". Well, making them "relax" is a hell of a lot of work for me! But it all comes in stages; I struggled a lot with the shape of my arms a lot at first too, but they've gotten hugely better in the three and a half years I've been at it. This will come too.