Knowing yourself

This past weekend I ran a 5 mile race at beautiful Stone Mountain in Georgia with my wife. As we walked up to the registration desk, and I looked around at the body morphometrics (shape) of the other contestants, I realized (again!) that I was not designed to run long distances. These people are amazingly ripped, but also amazingly small. Sure, a few, a handful are tall - that is the marathoner build - tall and long legs - but most males probably dont weight more than 150lbs. That is something i will never attain, NOR would I ever want to. I saw one other male that with anything that resembled "real" muscle and he was pretty fucking huge. He finished around me - 5 miles in 50 minutes or so (& it was really hilly, NO EXCUSE!)

At any rate, I learned I am not a competitive runner when my friend completed the race in 30 minutes - yeah that's under 7 minute miles for 5 miles - insane!

I prefer to be a beast then a marathoner and thank goodness I do not strive to be such. 

At any rate, I think training goes hand-in-hand with knowing yourself. For example, I KNOW I am never going to: 1) fight in the UFC, but will keep training martial arts; 2) run a marathon, but will keep running 3-7 mile races; 3) climb everest or rainier, but will keep hitting the wall and bouldering wall; 4) make the olympic gymnast team, but will still continue using my ropes to try and learn the Iron Cross. Point is: work what you can and work it hard. Be the best at what you are, what you are able to do. I think this also helps in other aspects of life, like mood and self-esteem. For example, I know I can't run the marathon, so I dont get depressed when I can't do it. On the other hand, I know that I can do suspended dips, so when I struggle to get a few out on a rough day, then I do get upset. My mood/affect is highly related to my success (or lack thereof in the gym) and I think it's because I am honest with my abilities. It is important to self-assess yourself, your abilities, and your goals. You can't set unattainable goals. It WILL be counterproductive to your training and may lead to injuries or dropping out of fitness all together. Setting honest, attainable goals (in fitness and life) is good for your development. A favorite line from What about Bob? --> "Baby steps!"