Before/After
In the August 2004 issue of Outside, there is an ad for a coaching/personal training company. This ad features a "BEFORE/AFTER" photo. The "before" photo shows a woman climber suspended from a rock overhang, her arms grbbing hold of the rock above, her position mostly vertical. The "after" one shows the same woman, now in a horizontal position, her hands grasping the side of a rock wall, her legs swinging out into space. This non-climber is pretty impressed with the "before" photo. The "after" one seems like a position in which I'd find myself only with a lot of trick photography and clever editing. Come to think of it, that applies to the "before" picture as well.Presumably, the reader is being led to conclude from the ad that if s/he will only sign on with one of the coaches/training programs the company offers, s/he too will be taken from excellent to spectacular athlete. Of course, for some of us, the "before" in the photo is not just "after" but well after where we are now. Some of us seek out coaching to move up from plod to trot, from trot to run. Maybe even from run to sprint. We look with admiration and envy at the world-class runners who whiz by us occasionally on our training runs along the Wissahickon or on Kelly Drive. We watch the Olympic Trials and the Penn Relays with the fascination of a pauper looking in the window of a jewelry store or Cinderella gazing wistfully at the gowned beauties off to the ball. Will we ever find our stride, feel the certainty and ease of movement that we see in the faster runners.
"Small steps," Mike always reminds me--I tend to get impatient with myself sometimes, wishing I could be faster, leaner, stronger. And the truth of this becomes clearer as I continue to train.There are two temptations one faces in training for a race: Over-reaching and giving up. Over-reach and injuries result. But take no steps, and you won't get anywhere. So the in between route is simply to step forward, not measuring yourself against the almost magical feats of the elite athletes, just against your goals. This isn't the glamor route, but if you're patient with it, your "after" photo will show a metamorphosis--maybe not the one in the Outside ad, but something that shows the effect of the choices you made. Better still, those choices will be evident in your own self-image, in the way you feel, in the way you live.
Today, my "small steps" led me to the nearby middle school track. I had a one-hour run on my schedule, and my body was feeling a bit tight from yesterday, so my plan was to take it easy. Oh yes, did I say "tight"? I had to work to pass a power walker! But not to worry, I thought. This is a recovery day, and is just as much needed as the hard workouts on the other days. Off to the side of the track, a Chinese couple was doing t'ai chi. I'd seen the woman there before. I'd even paused in my runs to follow along with her, doing the t'ai chi movements with far less ease: I take classes at the local Y, but I'm still comparatively a beginner. At one point, she invited me to come and join the two of them, and I did for a short time. I'd progressed enough in my classes to be a little better able to keep up with the two of them--at least I knew what movements they were doing, and I had the benefit of having attended my most recent class last night. After a few minutes, I felt it was time to get back to my run.
And here was a "before"/"after" that whether or not it would show in a photo, it was plenty evident for me as I ran. Before I paused for the t'ai chi, my pace was a stiff legged, tight little jog. After the t'ai chi break, I noticed immediately how much more confidently I was running, more receptive to the energy in me and around me. And more receptive to being the runner I am at present, recognizing that I'm heading in the right direction, having fun, one small step at a time.
---
p.s. I just happened to pay attention today to the font and color choices provided at the top of the editing window, so now I am going from "before"--endless succession of times black--to "after," a jazzier Arial purple! Watch out, reader!
posted by DPMcManus @ 9:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home