Yikes!

Yikes, is right.
Well this week was interesting....the body always has a funny way of welcoming new activities. I usually wake up and pretty much feel like someone has pounded on my legs with some sort of meat mallet to tenderize them for human consumption. So this week was no different after a couple of runs, mixed in with a few secret training sessions.

So I'm feeling pretty awful right now and it reminded me of something....pretty much the way I was feeling in Feburary and March...sweet.

I've been trying to come to terms with my season, am I happy with the way it went? Is it over or should I just rest up and put in a few digs in September and get a few more wins checked off.
It's always hard to say, kind of but not really. If I look back at the "objectives" I set at the start of the year, I've not really achieved all of them, but slightly overachieved others.

Sure I wanted to win alot of races, but no matter how many I would have win, it would really never be enough. But as I was reading a book "The Rider", by Tim Krabbe, I read an interesting passage. He was talking about one of the great riders in Tour de France history and saying that this guy used to win races in a grand way, not a wheel sucker or an opportunist, but a great bike rider who won it his way. Funny enough this gave me a feeling of satisfaction and joy. Seriously. Cause that's the way I like to win, big time, solo hands in the air, the only one in the photo. Not to say I don't want to win a sprint from a break off the front, cause if I would have got that part of the equation right I would have pretty much won 50% percent of my races, which is an absolutely ridiculous percentage in this defeatist sport. But when I was on form from late May, winning GP Charlevoix, totally on fire through Beauce, lighting it up on Preston and breaking away at the Tour of Quebec, it was great. Not only that but I think contributing to Aaron winning Nationals as well was a highlight of the year for me as well.

So, long story, but I think it's worth while to reflect a little in order to be mentally ready for the next chunk ahead and also not go chasing things for the wrong reasons. Once I start chasing money, points, number of wins or anything empirical, it just kind of looses it's meaning a little.

I don't race my bike for that. I do this because I like pain and suffering or actually I like how good life feels when the suffering is over and life doesn't hurt anymore. Anytime I've won a race it's because I have been more prepared to accept pain and let go of fear...that's it.

Sometimes I think that's all training really is. It's just as much about preparing your mind to deal with pain in quantified amounts and resting a little to be fresh enough to let yourself hurt and not loose focus. For me usually when words like, awful, painful, agonizing remind me of a particular training session, that means it was good no matter what the wuss meter read. If someone could invent a power meter with a suffer factor on it, that I'd buy into. Then to coach would say "today's ride, 10/10, make yourself bleed blood and try to push the pedals so hard you feel muscle coming off your bones"...that would be fun.

Reason I talk about the pain so much is I'm mentally preparing myself for the next chunk, and making sure I'm ready to deal with it and know what I am getting myself into. If I wasn't prepared for this then it was not time to start. Think about Cross, one hour to put four hours of pain into...if you win this race it's gonna hurt alot.

Ok, nough about that. More of this to come in my coaching book, chapter one, enjoying the pain.
It's not for eveyone.
DSJ