Thursday, July 12, 2012

The 99%


If you want to find out more about Brown County Mountain Biking, I'm currently working on an article for the next issue of Northern Motion, so stay tuned.
AND now you can get Northern Motion Gear. Check it out here!

Summer Vacation

As you can see from my banner ^(look up), I've been on a "summer vacation" from training. You could legitimately say this vacation began on May 31st which was the day of the last endurance training ride I did for LJ100. Okay, so I know LJ100 was just a few weeks ago, but my schedule for the previous two weeks and every day after that has been clear. Spinervals? Nope, sorry Coach Troy! Sufferfests? My passport is lacking any recent stamps from Sufferlandria. Hill Repeats? Hmmm, not those either. Strength Training? Ugh. Under-Overs? . . . Running?

Well, one thing is for certain, I am awesome at taking a break when it comes to neglecting my training schedule.

Back to work.

Unfortunately, my lack of training (and lack of eating healthy training food) has left me feeling like a big'ole'watermelon.

And not as in "a refreshing treat on a hot summer day" but in the "big, bloated, hollowed-out" way.

THIS IS NOT A GOOD FEELING.

To remedy the situation, I decided it was abruptly time to END the summer vacation and get back to work. This week I've been putting together a training schedule from now all the way to Iceman!


Making a training calendar was empowering!
I was already feeling less like a watermelon and more like a Wonder Woman!

Oh yeah, I was going to DESTROY my first workout: Intervals! 

But as I began to "spin" an odd feeling crept up my legs.
It was that empty, hollow watermelon feeling. Sometimes called "flat-tire legs."

Yup, it took all of 30 seconds to completely deplete my enthusiasm.

This was discouraging.


The fact is, there are consequences for taking time off. It's not a bad thing, taking a break can be refreshing. But I can't expect to be at the same place physically as I was during my peak training for Lumberjack. 

The 99%

Training is 99% HARD work. And 1% Awesome. Most of the time you feel awful. The muscles burn, the lungs ache, and your mind tells you to quit. You have to push yourself beyond your limits if you want to become faster and stronger. But if you're willing to do the work, I promise that all the days and weeks of putting yourself through the grinder will cause something amazing to happen. All the blood, sweat, and tears shed during the previous weeks will come together in a trifecta of awesomeness. 


You'll have that ride. The one where you feel like you're flying. Invincible. The one climb that typically turns your quads into ground beef will become your b*tch. Oops, I mean, will become a mole hill! Resistance? Hah! I laugh in your face! 


But that is the 1%

You have to get through the 99% of suffering first. Once you've finally achieved that Ride of Awesomenss, well, I have some bad news: it's not a destination. It's a moment. Once that moment has passed you're right back where you started, the hard work.

As a famous cyclist once said "It never gets easier, you just go faster."—Greg Lemond.

There is good news, however. Because right now I'm starting as a watermelon.

 But after a few weeks of hard work, well . . .

I will feel (and look!) much better .

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