The early efforts at being a beast in my own mind (free the mind, your ass will follow, as G. Clinton would say) are showing interesting results.
I am capable of so much more than I gave myself credit for. Previously, I did not allow myself to try, and therefore did not achieve.
Case in point. Previously I thought a 5k was just fine. But when I started being a beast my default minimum, even after not running at all for months, was 6.3k (4 miles, more or less, given Apple Watch errors in measuring distance).
Case in point. Last night I started running the neighborhood and decided to run the long blocks in a southward pattern until I hit 4 miles. Then, wherever I was, I would turn north and return home. Total distance 4.75 miles and I felt good.
What is my limit?
Meta. In what other areas of life should I ask the same question?
Unrelated: I am resolutely keeping it simple. The Apple Watch is unreliable in measuring distance or route: even when I stay on the sidewalk the route shows a wildly swerving path. It reports 1,000 feet of altitude gain when the true altitude change for a loop is more like -50 feet for the downhill stretch and +50 on the return.
I nerded out on the internet and found better and more accurate devices, but decided to not buy them. They are unnecessary for my current intentions.
I don’t care about distance, time, cadence, or any of that. I care about choices made. Commitments kept. Discipline.
Electronic devices are not necessary for discipline: all I need is a mind that makes a decision and a body that follows through.