Leaps Tall Buildings…

I love superhero TV shows and movies. Superman and Christopher Reeve were my first big screen crush. My motivation for running on the treadmill is the latest episodes of Arrow, The Flash, Black Lightning, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Flash, Black Lightning, and many of the Legends have some kind of super human (or metahuman) ability. Super speed, able to shoot lightning, turn to steel, or vibing to from location to another (or one dimension to another).

Given my affinity for running, being able to run as fast as the Flash would be appealing, but I suspect he doesn’t achieve the same benefits as I do. Running for an hour helps clear my mind and de-stress my body. Sprinting like the Flash probably requires even more concentration than trail running where you have to watch for mud and rocks and tree roots. It’s not as easy to disconnect your brain on the trails. Every time I let my brain wander, I trip and fall on my face. At my pace, the crash isn’t so bad–a few scars, dirt in random places; at Barry Allen’s, the crash would be disastrous.

Arrow doesn’t have a metahuman super power, but he does have extreme archery skill. To develop this skill, he had to work and practice for many hours. He probably needs to continually practice to keep his talents up to par. (We don’t see many of his workouts on the shoe anymore. alas.) So his skill could be described as not just the ability to shoot arrows with deadly accuracy but also the drive and the passion to learn, develop, and hone that skill.

 

If that’s a super power, sign me up.  I love learning about new things, but I don’t always want to put the work into developing a new skill. Theoretically some topic will sound interesting, but when it’s is really foreign to me, I have a hard time finding the motivation to understand it without guidance.

The other super power I would be interested in is eight hours of undisturbed sleep. I’ve heard rumors about it but don’t believe it actually exists.