Imaginary Barriers

Angie's post made me want to share something I've noticed sometimes during cardio workouts.  I am realizing that sometimes I restrict the intensity of my workout to my overly mild, cautious comfort zone.  I think to myself, "If I try to go faster or harder, maybe I won't be able to keep it up.  I'd better just stay in the range that I know I can maintain."

Well, what would be so wrong if I couldn't keep it up?  What if I did try faster or harder - even just for minutes or seconds - and went back down when I needed to?  Why does that seem scary?  Exercising inside, I probably really won't fall off the treadmill.  Exercising outside, other people don't care how stupid I might look.  (And if they do, that's their problem!)

Yesterday, I tried to just experiment with this and really enjoyed it.  I pushed myself the tiniest bit more, and it was exhilarating.