Jan 20 - Much of this section focuses on Cheryl’s physical exhaustion and discomfort. Describe a moment when your body limited what you could do, and explain what that experience taught you about your mental strength.

Response: During my cross-country days at Pius, when we would have meets on the weekends, I would always dread the 3-mile run that was soon to come. I still have nightmares about those races and can remember almost everything about them in vivid detail. There was always a specific moment during the race when my body started to give up on me, and it felt impossible to continue on. It would be during the isolated moments of the race when I would run in the woods far behind the other racers, or when someone I had been running next to sped up to pass me, or when I was on the last 1.5 miles of the race. My body kept limiting itself even though this race was something I knew I could do and had done before. The fear and anxiety of racing never helped either, but neither did the cold weather in that skinny jersey and those tiny shorts. However, my favorite moment in every race that I ran was the last little distance that we had to run until the finish line. The amount of time it took for me to go from "I need to give up on this race" to "I need to sprint like my life depends on it to the finish line" when I saw that checkered line was almost instant. I could have been seconds away from collapsing on the ground, but when I saw how close I was to the end, something inside of me that I never knew I had fired on all cylinders. My body felt like a sauna, even though it felt like I was in Alaska just moments ago, my eyes would open so wide despite the wind hitting them, I would breathe like I was having an anxiety attack, and somehow my legs would carry me all the way to the finish line. These races taught me just how capable our brains and bodies can be when we really want something in life.

Summary: Today, we read the first 6 pages of chapter 6 from Wild, and answered discussion questions.

Reflection: The strength that we can get in high-stress situations can unlock a part of you that you never thought you had before.

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