Now and then you have to push your own limits. I sure don’t do it nearly enough, but over the course of the last few days, I was three for three.
It started with Ronnie’s and my first long motorcycle ride together. I’ve only ridden with him on fairly short jaunts around town, with last year’s Biker’s for Babies ride being my longest experience. It was around 115 miles, which we did over the course of a few hours with several stops along the way.
But Saturday, we headed for Tulsa, some 230 miles away, in order to visit some friends and run in a 5K race with them that evening. It wasn’t exactly pleasant Spring weather, either, so luckily I was able to borrow my mom’s leather chaps and warm riding gear. It made all the difference of what could have been a very long and miserable ride, but I ended up quite comfortable.
I’m still learning to like motorcycle rides – I’m not gonna lie, there were several times I looked down at the highway pavement blurring by below my feet at 80 miles and hour and had to try not to picture my face against it should we lose control. But with riding, you do notice things along the drive that you wouldn’t notice in the car, like how massive and loud semi trucks are, and the true intensity of passing the car in front of you on a two-lane highway. Ahhh, there’s nothing like the open road and the feeling of there being nothing between you and it!
Once we had safely arrived in Tulsa, we headed downtown to the race start with our friends. I haven’t been too diligent about training lately – I’ve been lucky to get two good runs in each week. I really just wanted to enjoy running in some new scenery and hang out with friends, not improve my time. However, I was feeling good at the time the race started, and had created the perfect playlist on my ipod, so I went with it, and pushed myself. It was tough and I pushed outside my usual relaxed running pace, all the way till the finish line, finishing right around 30 minutes. That’s a ten minute mile, which I had only once miraculously done before on the Valentine’s race that was so cold I was just trying to get done. I haven’t since been able to make that pace, so I was stoked.. I shouldn’t mention that Ronnie, who hasn’t run since the St. Patrick’s Day 4 miler, finished the 5K in just over 23 minutes. He is in ridiculous shape, and I’m so proud of him for being motivated to do that!
Finally, today at work I completed a big project that I had mostly been dreading. It was something our CEO had challenged me to do, something I’d never done before, and neither had most of the people I work with. There was no precedent at our company for how to do this thing, and it was not in my natural skillset to do. But with a lot of help from my coworkers, we got it together, and it went off without a hitch. I like doing things I’m good at and know how to do (who doesn’t?), so putting myself out there on something I’m unsure about and have no experience with was scary and uncomfortable. Oh, and our CEO is involved – so let’s not screw this up! The whole thing turned out to be great, and well worth all the time and effort and anxious anticipation.
So I’m feeling pretty good right now after conquering a few challenges and fears, all in a matter of days. I think I’ll revel in this feeling for a bit before I figure out which way I’ll push my own limits next…
3 responses to “Outside the Comfort Zones”
Way to go Lori, there is not a lot of better feelings that when you push yourself and conquer! I loved the pictures.
Lori, How awesome! Way to go on the 5K and pushing yourself to your limits at home and at work. You are a good motivator to your friends!
I’m proud of you Lori! And I admire that you moved beyond your comfort zone and challenged yourself. Those are usually the only ways we grow. And I’m confident you did a great job with the focus group. Also, looking forward to taking a bike trip with you and Ronnie. To be sure, when the weather is better cuz it’d be hard for you and I to share my chaps!