After pedaling through 30 minutes of fake hills on the stationary bike, then humbling myself with the chin-up bar and other upper body torture machines, I stepped onto the treadmill to finish off with an easy walk. (No running for me today…I have to give the legs a rest before my five-mile scheduled run tomorrow.) Just as I began to feel like a hamster on a wheel, the thick scent of hot wintergreen permeated the air. I glanced around as the familiar smell filled my nose. It was probably coming from the guy who had gotten on to the treadmill in the row in front of me. Ahhh…I knew that smell well. The smell of Ben Gay…used to soothe achy muscles and joints, it flooded my nose with its wintery menthol, cleared my sinuses, and filled my head with happy memories of the race the day before.
My husband had run in the race too…but his knee had been giving him some problems, so he was slathering on the muscle rub to ease the achiness. A new runner, (even newer than myself), his goal was to just run the entire 3.1 miles. Coming in at 36 minutes and 2 seconds, he achieved his goal. It was exciting to see him accomplish it. Even though he was hurting a little, he pushed through it and made it a reality. As I padded along on the treadmill, I thought of my goal for that race…I wanted to try to run the 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes. It seemed an impossible feat just months ago, yet going into that race after training for months, I thought I might finally be able to hit my goal of running three consecutive sub-10-minute miles.
During the race, when I hit the mile 3 marker, I knew I had just a tenth of a mile left to run. I continued to concentrate on turning my feet over quicker. Not lengthening my stride, (as I tend to get out of breath faster) but simply taking shorter, quicker strides. I was on auto-pilot. I just kept thinking, "Quicker. Quicker. Turn over quicker." I rounded the corner towards the finish line and I saw my brother and sister-in-law there, cheering me on (they had already finished the race). I heard my sister-in-law shouting, “You’re right on target to hit it! Run hard! Run in it!” Somewhere in my brain, her words registered and thinking about nothing but obeying her command, I did what she said. I ran faster. I switched from "Quicker," to "RUN HARD." And my feet obeyed. As I crossed the finish line and realized I had not only reached my goal of sub-10s, I actually surpassed it and came in at 28 minutes, 33 seconds, giving me a 9-minute mile average. It felt awesome…in the truest sense of the word. Awesome.
After the race, (and Dean applying another layer of the muscle cream) we went out to eat a celebratory breakfast. I posed for some pictures with friends. My girlfriend leaned in and whispered, “What’s that smell? Mint? What did you order?” I giggled, shook my head and explained that Dean had just used Ben Gay in the car. “…Trust me,” I continued, “This is definitely chocolate, not wintergreen.” I smiled as I sipped my malt.
Winding down my workout, meandering along on that treadmill at the gym, I suddenly felt a little more pep in my step at the memory of our achievements from the day before. It’s funny, how something as simple as a smell (like Ben Gay) can bring back such great memories and inspire such good feelings. What that warm, wintergreen scent does for me now, is remind me that the impossible is possible. That even though we’re tired, or hurt, or just don’t feel like doing it today…we can meet any goal we put our mind too…with enough determination and practice. What you think is unattainable can be attainable.
What you think is too hard, can become easier.
But only you can do the work. I couldn’t make my husband run the entire 3.1 miles…he had to do it himself. I certainly couldn’t carry him, nor could I make him move his feet if he was too tired to do it. Just like nobody was going to get me to run faster to hit my goal. I had to do the work. I had to hope my body listened when I told it to go, and I had to hope for the best.
The only person who’s going to make it happen for you, is you.
Know this…it is possible. That wintergreen scent is going to remind of that from now on. As I shut off my treadmill, I took a deep breath and inhaled that hot menthol scent again…and smiled.
What smell brings you good thoughts or happy memories?