Leg strength

At the end of my stretching/strengthening session last night, the instructor had us do the child's pose (a yoga pose) and close our eyes to relax. She then said, "Let us ground ourselves from thinking that we are the best just because we have successfully achieved the things that not many could do/achieve."

It was a humbling moment because minutes before I was so chuffed about my flexibility. And that's the great thing about my stretching instructor. Because after you've done triathlons, ran marathons, swam for hours, endured great distances, persevered through pain, sometimes you're more proud than you should be, especially comparing yourselves to other unfit peers. It is a dangerous trap which I think we all fall into.

Another great episode last week was my cycling 'training'. We went to a normal route that usually sees many cyclists. I never liked that route; too many false flats which messed up my pacing. But that seemed to be his favorite route. It has the distance and the hills that presents the path for a good training.

We went through the route light and easy, until we were on the way back. I thought I was off the hook. Then he asked me to pedal faster, and in rhythm, push push push until I go faster. That was how, he said, you gain speed without changing the gears, which many cyclists depend on. He proceeded to make me repeat this for the remaining 3 uphills that had me panting.

Then he saved the best for the last: off the saddle climbing. And we found out that my leg strength is pathetic and my hamstring is under developed. GULP.

And because my leg strength sucked, roused myself early last saturday for a 6k run. I started off realy zippy; too excited to be running again. And I got slower and slower until I reached the 3k mark when things perked up. Then it was kinda smooth sailing. I was glad it was over and also that I did it.