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There is a reason they say “never say never,” because you just never know when you’ll find yourself doing the exact thing you said you’d never do.
Such was the case during this weekend’s training ride. Our plan called for 65 miles with 4,000 feet of elevation gain. By the numbers, it wasn’t much different than our ride last weekend. And last weekend it was raining and windy and I was coming down with a nasty cold. So I knew I’d be much better on the bike this week.
It was still really tough – especially with the heat and the fact that I hadn’t been on my bike all week (because of a work conference).
But the funniest part is that I found myself riding up Gopher Canyon, just off the 15 exit. For those of you who know this little hill (um, it’s only little when you’re in a car), it’s about an 11% grade that feels like it goes straight up. Nothing I haven’t done before, but the humor in this little stretch is that I’ve driven this road many times and each time have mentally commented that “I’d never want to ride this on a bike.”
Words don’t taste very good when you eat them.
We rode this hill (amongst many others) not just once, but TWICE this weekend. Lord have mercy ….
So, here’s what I’m learning. Training is tough. That’s why they call it training. I need to keep doing it. The harder I work now, the more I’ll enjoy Tahoe.
I’m also learning that the biggest muscle I need to exercise is my brain. As my coach kept saying on Saturday, “get out of your head.” I need to mentally tell myself that I can do this!
I’m also learning that I am making great strides in my biking ability. Before, I was hesitant to tackle the hills around my house. Today, they’re a piece of cake considering what I’ve done with my team. I also didn’t know how to change a flat by myself (hense the infamous taxi ride home a few weeks ago that never made the light of this blog). Now, I can change flats in lightening speed.
I have also noticed my recovery time has improved. After my first hard ride with the team, I was pretty much toast on Sunday. Now, however, Sundays are much less painful.
Every little bit adds to the last bit of work that I did, and I know at the end of this it will be worth it.
And now, I will just chuckle when I drive up Gopher Canyon and say “Remember when I said I’d never ….”
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