I have had so many people admire my energy. I commonly dance for hours. While there are many that can out dance me artistically, I have yet to meet anyone who can even keeping up with me endurance wise. Because of this, it seems some people think my energy is endless. It is not.
Two hours of Running
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. That is to say, it really felt like spring. It was a bit windy but the sun was out and it was actually warm, in the low 50’s. I had planned on running and the outside was calling to me. I try to do 3-5 miles on most of my runs. I wanted to go a different direction so I looked over the map and planned out a couple options that would give me my 3-5 miles.
So I started out on my run. It felt so great. As I approached my turn around point for 3 miles I realized I wanted to keep going, so I headed on with the longer run. When I got to the turn around for the five mile run I still felt great. My longest run to date was about 7.5 miles. So feeling good I decided to extend my run to match my record.
But I got to the next turn around point and knew I could do more. The weather was so nice and I was feeling so good. So I decided to see how much I could break my 7.5 mile record. I kept going and going, feeling fine the whole way. I finally got to about five miles out, which would total a ten mile run, and decided to head back home.
That was a good decision because shortly after turning toward home I started running out of steam. My heart and lungs felt fine, but my legs and knees started to complain. So I slowed down a bit, then a bit more. I was almost home but at 9 miles I realized I needed to give my body a break. I did my cool down and walked the rest of the way home.
Two hours of Climbing
I got back from my run and realized I was late for my meetup with my climbing partner at the gym. I showered and changed as fast as I could. Then I grabbed some food to eat on the way and was off to the climbing gym. I didn’t break any records at the climbing gym that day. I was pretty popped out from my extra long run. But I did climb, including a couple leads and topping a 5.11b (my easy grade is 5.10’s). While I didn’t really push it I felt good with the climbing I did do.
Two hours of Dancing
After climbing I was definitely getting tired, but I so wanted to dance. One of my favorite places to dance is Ecstatic Dance. It is so amazing. Very different, very freeing. I hadn’t been in a couple of weeks and because of my schedule will not be able to go next week. So tired as I was I headed to the dance floor telling myself I can always leave early. I got there and started dancing. The music and experience was so amazing. I just kept going till it was over, which was too soon.
Too Much
But all of that one after the other in one day proved to be a bit too much. Maybe more than a bit too much. When I got home I was sore and tired. But I needed to feed my body. I had over a thousand calorie deficit, (calories burned in activities vs calories eaten). I got a healthy meal and relaxed for a bit.
But the next morning I was still exhausted and sore. I have taken three naps and am just now starting to feel normal again. And while I obviously over did it. I have also learned a lot about where my body is at. While this was a lot of activity to do in one day, compared to a day on the wall (see here about “the wall”) it wasn’t that much. So I have a long way to go. I need to build up my endurance to a much higher level than it is now. Which is why I expect it to take years to get to my goal.
