Yesterday a truly astonishing moment happened to me. I ran one mile faster than I ever had before.

At 9:30 in the morning I had the cardiorespiratory test for Strength Training at Kennesaw State University. The test was simple. Run 1.5 miles as fast as you can. I slipped my Vibram Five-Fingers onto my feet and prepared for some pain. Breathing deeply at the start I took off at a modest pace as my body acclimated to the physical stress. After 7 1/2 laps around the Campus Green I clocked in with a time of 11:55. A fairly respectable time but I did not feel tired. In fact I was pissed off at myself because I felt I could have pushed harder on the last two or three laps. Fortunately this disappointment would not last for long.

Right after the cardio test I walked to my second class Walk/Jog for Fitness. I know, you are as astonished as I am that walking and jogging is a college class. Personally I cannot wait for Eating/Sleeping for Fitness next year. Everyone checked in at the classroom and we headed out to the Campus Green for yet another cardiorespiratory test! This time we were only running a timed mile of 4.25 laps around the green. This was a truly unique opportunity for me. My legs were still warm from the earlier test and I knew I could push myself harder, but there was a problem.

As I walked to the green my feet started hurting. Two well developed blisters on each of my feet threatened to put an end to my run that day. So instead of suffering I took off my Vibram’s and decided to run the mile completely barefoot. Toes on the cool concrete I slammed my hand against my watch and I was off.

Lap one and two were getting into the groove. Stuck behind a track guy and an ROTC guy in full workout gear I used them to keep my pace as high as I could for two laps. Crossing into lap three I kicked into another gear. I passed by the ROTC runner and settled in behind the track guy. Halfway through lap three I still had not tapped into my reserves so I drove harder. Passing the track guy I saw the start of lap four coming up. I told myself I was going to sprint the last lap as hard as I could. Once my foot crossed the line I started pumping my arms and breathing deep. Staying on the balls of my feet I charged forward dodging around people on the green. With a half lap to go I was hurting but I still had more to give. I dug a little deeper and found untapped energy in my legs. That carried me through to a quarter lap away from the finish. At this point my breath was ragged, my legs on fire, and my face contorted in agony. I wanted to leave all of myself on that last quarter lap. I ran harder than I thought I ever could and crossed the line with a time of 5 minutes and 40 seconds. My new personal best.

Here is the problem. Now that I have a new personal best I have to strive to beat it again. It may be next week, next month, or next year but I now have to strive each day to get past that best. With that in mind ask yourself what are your personal bests right now and how can you exceed them? Do you want to lift more weight? Do you want to get and A on the next test instead of an 88? Do you want to spend more time with your children or your spouse? Well the only way that will happen is if you commit yourself to doing it. Write down what you want to do better. It does not have to be a big thing it only has to be big to you. Then, once you reach it try and to go further. Who knows you might even surprise yourself at how good you can be.

Cheers,
Gordon

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