Archive for February, 2010

Older Entries »
h1

How to be present

February 27, 2010

A discussion went around on the Train-This Triathlon Team google group the other day, involving thinking too much. Gretchen sent out a great article linked right here that detailed changing and creating habits. The reason we have our google group is for fun things and discussions between our athletes, just like the one that followed. Our athletes have become online family to one another in many ways.

The conversation turned to controlling the thoughts in our head, or rather stopping the thoughts in our head. I remember in fourth grade staring out the window. Sister Virginia called upon me and asked me what I was thinking about. I told her I was thinking about nothing. IMPOSSIBLE ! She cried out. But no….. really I was thinking about nothing. It hadn’t been the first time and it was not the last time.

Thinking about nothing perhaps is the greatest gift I had ever been given. I started thinking a lot after that for many years, particularly through the years of my eating disorder. But those times in the pool…. that’s when my mind quieted. I had thoughts of course, but I would acknowledge them and then let them go. They’d just pass through me.

The same thing happens for me now in training and in competition. I don’t go by thoughts in my mind I go by feelings in my heart. Admittedly I got a little away from that for a while, but last year I tapped back in. This week, turning off the data….. I was there again. Thinking nothing, just being present.

We talk a lot about being present in yoga. This is the most difficult thing for me to articulate also because of the view that many people, especially athletes….. especially triathletes have about yoga.

Many come into a class with a preset judgement. They think their was through poses, get irritated if the class is to mellow, judge and inspect the instructor, the music, the style, the entire thing. Personally I get something out of any class that I go to. If I leave a class disappointed then it’s my fault, never the teacher’s.

The style of yoga I teach is called Baptiste Power Vinyaysa. It’s flow yoga, athletic yoga, be prepared to do a million push ups. It’s 90 degrees. It’s fast. Because I have practiced power vinyasa for so long….. I have excellent functional strength. The TRX…. is very easy for me. I balance on my hands every single day. I end up using the TRX for a warm up.

Back to presence.

The foundation to any yoga practice is the breath. Ujjayi breath is what you will often hear….. (that’s Sanskrit for victorious breath)…. some refer to it as the Darth Vader breath. Either way is fine with me. It’s a reverse whisper oceanic like sounding breath that your draw in from the back of the throat. Try whispering the word HA. The whisper it with your mouth closed. Now as you whisper HA with your mouth closed bring the breath to the back of your throat. Draw it in to the diaphragm, which is below your ribcage. Now as you are breathing this way set your eyes on once spot in front of you. Breathe. Keep that same breath and close your eyes. Bring your attention to the space between your eyes. That’s the third eye or your inner drishti.

Notice this….. this simple act of breathing. The simple act of even focusing your thoughts on this victorious breath…… has already unplugged you from your brain, the space between your ears. It’s slowed down the constant turning of the mental hamster wheel. (Notice this: I have said nothing about balance or flexibility. Yoga happens on and off of a mat.)

You feel irritation and anxiety and thought start to bubble to your surface…… acknowledge it….. let it pass through…… but focus on your breath. That will pass.

Now you begin to combine this breath to some movement. All yoga in my opinion is absolutely awesome. So if gentle hatha is your style, good. If Bikram is your style…. good. Yoga Fit? Fine. Yoga elitists exist just like multisport elitist do as well. Do what you do in that arena…. ignore them. If you want to make your own yoga practice and style….. good. Whatever gets you moving and breathing and your mind slowing down.

Poses teach us lessons. They have for hundreds of years longer than swimming, cycling and running have. Take Utkatasana (chair pose) for example. By the way cyclists love this pose because it really taps their strengths. You come into this pose and hold it for 10 breaths. Things can happen along the way. Thought wants to creep in.

There are other things I could be doing.

This hurts

This is stupid.

Why doesn’t the instructor do the pose with us.

This music is creepy.

Wait till I blog about this!

Acknowledge those thoughts. See them, wave hello and let them pass on by. They are the devil on your shoulder. Instead come into your breath. Treat those thoughts like the kids in the back seat of your car. See them, acknowledge them, and then get back to what you are doing. Breathing.

Poses, asanas, vinyasas teach us patience, how to be in the moment, how to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations, how to just….. be present.

Now bring the same thing into your sport.

You are on your trainer with 3 sets of big gear tempo efforts. You are in the middle of number two, about to lose your cookies. Your thoughts become like the devil on your shoulder.

This hurts.

I hate winter.

How many miles have I ridden on this bastard trainer?

I am tired.

I am going nowhere.

My coach is an ass.

See your thoughts, feel them pass by. Focus on your breathing, no matter how hard it may be at the time. Because you are on the trainer you can close your eyes. find that inner drishti. Give it 2 minutes. are you wearing an iPod? Follow the beat of the drum. Try it.  You will be in a different place.

That’s how you become present. You don’t have to only find it on a mat. In a  studio. It’s available everywhere. On a  bike. Ona  run. In the pool. In the car with screaming kids in the background.

It’s actually a choice. I personally love the way that yoga helps me find it.

I am in recovery for Bulimia Nervosa. I have been in recovery for 16 years now. I don’t go to a therapist or a support group. I am done talking about it. I have a good life. I dont’ need to analyze anything. Instead…… I practice yoga.

I can’t express it without sounding like an elitist yoga person, but I have found presence in my life that’s been there for a long time. I work to cultivate it every single day. I practice yoga every single day. I practice at least 20 minutes. I love when I can practice for 75. I can’t do that often enough.

Presence truly is a choice. Just like pedaling. Just like working on running biomechanics. It’s all a choice.

So before you judge it, give it a shot. It’s a better way of being, I can promise that.

Stop trying so hard. Try easier. Be easier.

Posted in Coaching Files, My Training | 3 Comments »

h1

Snow Day

February 26, 2010

This amount of snow is not impressive. At all. But the “sky is falling” mindset of the local weatherman is rather impressive. You’d think the apocalypse was occurring. The one good thing about the snow day though is that our rate of car accidents will hopefully be lower when I am at work later on today. Should lighten up the witching hour of 5pm, and I will be home before the next one at 8pm.

With this kind of weather comes closings. Pool closings, school closings, parents scrambling to figure out work issues. I am lucky enough to have a husband who can work remotely. So when school is closed on the one of 2 days a week I actually have to work, we are okay. I am really really blessed like that.

The “worst” thing that happens to me is that I flip flop today and tomorrow’s workouts. Gasp! Not a problem.

My long ride yesterday was a bit mentally challenging. I still nailed it without data but I looked outside and felt cabin fever setting in. Just a few more weeks of this…. I promised myself, just a few more weeks.

I long….. absolutely long to feel the air on my skin as I ride the road for endless hours. I long to see the road pass beneath my wheel. It’s coming. It’s coming. Soon I will be in Texas, and the sun will greet me and my friends and I will celebrate. And I will put my fitness to the test. It’s feeling really good!

Posted in My Training | 2 Comments »

h1

Snow Bath

February 25, 2010

Tuesday I did something I never do. I moved a workout. Gasp. I know I know. But the week is created a certain way, it’s not meant for shuffling around. But I had a rough go of hill bounding on Tuesday. The training started off great, the tempo bike was nailed without even looking. My best one ever. I set out for the hills, the seven hills of hell as I like to call them. The roads were bad yet I was overdressed. I did the first one and called it a day. It felt horrible.

I could barely run up the hill.

I have been around long enough to know never to panic or have a freak out about one workout. It means it wasn’t the day for it. So I switched Wednesday and Tuesday’s runs.

Wednesday I was ready.

Last week I hit these hills….. from the light pole before the tree to the yellow diamond sign at the top of the hill in an average of 1:23. Wednesday I averaged 1:16. I ended the season last year at those times. Now I begin it with them.

 These hills and I are becoming better friends. My form has greatly improved. My mind on running has greatly improved and I am in love with no data week (but still recording it at the end!!!)

During the induction of this vertical phase I am sore. Very sore. I have started the ice baths, however with a different twist. SNOW. Snow baths. I have snow all around me and apparently I have more coming tonight. I fill a basin with a boatload of snow and I drop it in the water with me for a good 58 degree bath. I have come to the agreement with myself that I have to snow bath for a bit almost every single day until my fitness adapts to this.

And I am super psyched.

Posted in My Training | Leave a Comment »

h1

Special

February 24, 2010

Our son is considered to have special needs, and often the question I am asked is “what’s wrong with him?” of “what’s his diagnosis?”….. I don’t give one. I don’t believe in classifying children or identifying children by their disabilities. Diagnosing is the medical profession’s way of categorizing into treatment modalities, the educational system’s way of categorizing into classrooms or getting services, and the world’s way to bill for all of it.

Many times parents will come to me either as a nurse or as a mother of a child with special needs and introduce them as…. This is Charlie, he has ADHD. If my parents had walked me around and said This is Mary, she’s Bulimic……. I would have died. They didn’t introduce my brother as the Diabetic or my sister as the girl with the tumor in her leg.

I don’t introduce Luc that way. Can you imagine? Hi this is my child and here is what is wrong with him. That teaches a child that not only is something wrong with them…… but that something is wrong with them!!!!! There is nothing wrong with any child. There are differences, but nothing wrong.

That also insinuates that if something is wrong….. then it can be fixed. It’s not that we need to fix something, or cure something….. we just need to roll with it. There is nothing to fix in these kids.

Many offer a diagnosis as an excuse for behavior. Charlie is running around…. oh well, he’s Got ADHD, ODD and PDQRX. My son is expected to have good behavior regardless of a diagnosis. A diagnosis of anything is not an excuse for a child to be rude, inconsiderate or impolite. Or at least mine. And he knows that.

We are often complimented on his manners. When he meets someone he shakes their hand. We’ve been at the YMCA a few times where he has introduced himself to a kid, and when he shakes their hand they have asked me if something is wrong with him.

If someone shakes their hand…. something must be wrong with him? Wow.

I spent years focusing on what our son was behind on. I spent years looking for help from specialists, books, internet, but a year ago when I had to pull him out of a school that was essentially abusing him….. I know that’s bold to say but if you knew what he went through you’d understand…….. I realized that the only people who can really navigate this with him…. is us. His parents.

I began focusing on everything that was right with him. He doesn’t have his balance yet, so he rides his bike with training wheels. So he competes in triathlons with training wheels. He is at grade level with his reading (for years he was behind)… so we read 3rd grade level books. That sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? I just know too many folks who insist their kids read above grade level, they struggle and hate reading.

He swims like a fish. He is thriving in his new school. He’s learning again.

For a long time he was in such a bad situation and place educationally it was unbelievable that he learned anything at all. He was portrayed as a bad kid. They placed heavy restrictions on him, he was a square peg they tried and tried to fit into a round hole. If he inhaled when they said exhale…. they called the crisis team (and really…. thats not much of an exaggeration).

So when I yanked him out of that school one day, we changed everything by focusing on what he can do and slowly nurturing those things. we put so much focus on people’s limitations rather than their strengths.

Bill Gates focused on his strengths…. and look where he is now.

Michael Phelps focused on his strengths….. and look where he is now.

If we tried to make Phelps into a runner and Gates into a hair stylist…. just because those were their weaknesses….. how on earth would they ever be happy?

Why do we do that to kids?

Why do we introduce them with a disability?

What I am not articulating very well is that….. as a parent of a kid with some needs…..  I have learned the hard way that my husband and I are the best possible advocates for him and for his growth. Doctors and treatments can help, but we are his front lines. It means encouraging him to play his strengths, allow his limitations to come around as they come around. We’ve got therapists for those we don’t need to make those the highlight of his day. It means continuing to teach him morals and values, and not allowing his limitations to become excuses for behavior. It means focusing on the growth that he experiences every single day. It means keeping him in academic situations like he is now that foster learning and don’t try to stuff him into a round hole. He’s a square peg and he won’t fit. So we highlight that he’s his own person, he’s a square peg, and that’s a beautiful thing.

I dont’ seek treatments, I seek opportunities. I don’t identify him as X, I identify him as the beautiful young man he’s becoming.

His world is more challenging than for others. And yet his is easier than many more. The fine line of supporting him and letting him find his was is in fact a fine line. But it’s his path.It’s not something wrong with him, or that needs treatment, it’s just part of life.

Honestly I wouldn’t want him any other way.

Posted in Family | 3 Comments »

h1

Tempo

February 23, 2010

To begin with today, click here for a really well written blog post by Chuckie V on Success.

I placed the black electrical tape strategically over my Ergomo to cover the heart rate and wattage data, and I chuckled to myself. Triathletes + Electrical tape. Such a funny sport we are in sometimes.

The tempo ride was pretty standard as far as tempo rides go. The main set was 2 X 20 minutes tempo with 5 minutes of recovery in between. In one form or another I have done this set a billion times. Today may have been the first without data to look at. So I snuggled my earbuds in my ears, and started to pedal.

The feeling I feel for while riding tempo is that feeling of going hard…… wanting to go harder….. sitting a bit on the edge…… but knowing that if my worst enemy in the world….. if you have ever watched Seinfeld I call this person my very own personal Newman….. if they came up to me I could drop them like a damn brick.

That’s the only way I can describe it. The feeling of teetering right on that edge, having the taste for going harder but staying in the box. The sweet spot.

Now to answer a question…… this little test of mine is not Wizard approved. That’s why I am still recording the data at the end. He knows about it, hasn’t weighed in one way or another….. but I know it’s something I have to explore. If the power meter dies, or I should say when it does, when the Garmin won’t turn on, I don’t want to be lost.

I want to be found. But I want to be found today not when I need to be 100% focused.

I nailed the tempo ride better and more evenly than I have ever nailed it by watching power. I think many times, not all the time we get caught up in the numbers game. The numbers should teach us, not dictate us. Guide us not govern us. Electronics fail, my spirit never will.

This afternoon is a hill bounding run. The beauty of this run is that I always only wear a watch. I don’t need a HRM or garmin to tell me I am running in zone 310-C on a 22% grade hill.

Posted in My Training | 2 Comments »

h1

data-less

February 22, 2010

Two days in and all is great. I have done 2 workouts so far with electrical tape covering any data except for time. I have nailed each one. But they have been easy workouts. I’m very glad to know I can hit my easy paces so far.

So far it’s a great feeling. I literally close my eyes, allow myself to be quiet and just listen. Your body knows much more than a heart rate monitor or a garmin or a power meter. Those are just tools. Use them to teach you but never become dependant.

It’s like full time yoga. My breath, my movement and my body. Tomorrow will be the real test as I have tempo efforts and hill bounding.

So far I like the freedom but the security of knowing I can look at what I need to at the end. To reassure myself that I in fact do know myself.

In other news our new website is live for Train-This! Please click here for a look! In recent years our awesome friends over at TWIN Advertising have been in charge of designing and hosting our site. Their company has changed and grown so much that their accounts are much bigger than ours! In this economy that’s freaking GREAT! So we decided to try our hand at some design with some help from our friends at Logical Solutions.

Bottom line….. you need some advertising help? TWIN is your place. Johnny G has been a great friend to me and my favorite part of our friendship is busting on him on the field and in his office. Frighteningly there is a giant poster sized picture of me on TWINS wall, which is so darn weird! Now if Johnny G would let me have at his swim stroke…..

So lots is going on, check out the new site, we’ve got some good programs going on and coming! And stay tuned for the data-ess updates!

Posted in My Training | 2 Comments »

h1

naked

February 21, 2010

I love new challenges and chances ….. opportunities to excel. So I am issuing a challenge to myself this week. For 7 days I will not look at a heart rate monitor, a power meter, a computrainer or a garmin. Oh I will still wear them and record every workout just like I always do…. but they will be covered with electrical tape. I will not even look at them until the end of the workout to see how I did and how finely I can or can not still tune into my body.

Typically I pride myself with being tuned in, but at the same time I fear that I have become too reliant on all the gadgetry of this sport. The gadgets have taught me so much, now it’s time to take them to the next level. When I spot check myself I can tune into the right pace, heart rate and power….. but can I do that for an entire week?

And how would that feel to be so disconnectedly connected?

These devices ultimately fail. I have seen one too many people standing in transition trying to “locate” their Garmin, spending the first miles of a run fidgeting around with the electronics rather than enjoying the race itself. I do not want to ever spend a moment doing that. I haven’t, but I don’t want to get caught up.

I want to know that when it counts and batteries die….. that I know myself better than anything that runs on battery ever does. I want to know at mile 18 at Ironman Florida that I am on pace without having to even look at the Garmin, or time the miles. I want to know…. that I can know.

Call it the week of going naked. I think I might like this.

Posted in My Training | 4 Comments »

h1

Sound Bites

February 20, 2010

Friday morning was light in terms of folks in the pool. Normally we have our coach on deck but it’s winter break and she gets to have a break. Woman coaches 10 days a week for heaven’s sake! So it was us and the workout and the pool. I was surprised that the group actually did the sculling drills. It was actually hilarious. We know we need the drills. I will say that I like to drill the most.

At the end of the set we hit a pretty good set of 6 X 200 on a tight interval, pulling. Les took the lead in lane one and Travis didn’t pull so Les could give him a ride. I took the lead in lane 2 with Kim, and next to us was Scott in lane 3. We held on to Les and Travis the first 2 I think. During the third one I looked over and there was Scott. He’d pull away from me but I’d catch him on the turns. Kim stayed right in my wake.

I love that kind of swimming. No one is talking but there is so much communication happening. Les and Travis nailed them. Nailed them. I swam to stay with Scott and I willed Kim to stay on my feet. Touch my feet I kept thinking. Let’s go. come on sister. She and I should have split the lane. That would have been fantastic.

On the last one Scott just took the hell off and dropped me. I was proud of him. I was proud of all of us. My first hard week of swimming and I was doing just fine. Most importantly I was present.

And so began the week of sport specific strength work, and get me out of the weight room! I still do a few sets on the TRX at home to keep things strong and healthy but I won’t see weights till summer. YES! This week brought hill bounding, low cadence work and pulling in the pool my favorite). It brought soreness, and it brought fatigue as I fit working and training into winter break for the kiddo. I lost on the sleep department on a few nights but it will all balance out in the end.

I am psyched.

I am equally psyched for the amazing team of athletes I get to coach. I’ve been coaching triathletes  since 2004 and I will proudly say this team has the most mojo of any team I have ever coached in my life. They are close, they are focused, and they are so damn confident. Our 2010 uniforms are about to be ordered and you will notice who they are.

There are just a few additions to my 2010 race schedule, we have added in some sprint races to work on my top end speed.  Adding in a sprint race is something we can do without changing the week as planned. adding in an international distance race changes the week structure. So I can add in some more fast ones! Excellent! As my focus is pretty darn focused this season I will stay on track and do what I am told!

And….. while I am jumping topics today don’t forget:

  • Train-This Beginner Triathlon Program begins soon with Jackie D! Click here for more details and you can also sign up online!
  • The next session of Yoga For Athletes is filling quickly, please call 248-9070 to register!
  • We’ve added a second class for the Sports Kitchen, cooking for busy athletes, which begins soon! Click here  for more details!

Have a terrific weekend everyone!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

h1

swim

February 19, 2010

Just as there are certain things that make runners runners….. there are things that make swimmers swimmers. The effortlessness it takes to slide into the water, the good feeling of snapping that goggle strap around the back of my head. The pressing in of the goggles with the heels of my hands. The water is always cold. It’s been cold for 30 years. While I am a triathlete now and have been for over a decade… I am a swimmer at heart. It’s practically where I was born.

This week I was told it’s time to turn my swimming back on.

swimmers -turned-triathletes tend to like to maintain a high level of swimming fitness throughout the year. swimmers who come to triathlon churning our 10K per day don’t like to give up those yards. The same thing happens for runners who have routinely spent their lives pounding out 60+ miles per week.

We just can’t maintain that level of single sport in a triple sport-sport. There must be balance. There must be careful balance. A runner who maintains 80 mile running weeks while training for triathlon will remain a runner. A swimmer whose balance has them putting the most time in their week into the water will be a good swimmer.

Want to be a good triathlete then you have to even it out.

Many even find that their once loved single sport soon flourishes.

That is not a coincidence.

Throughout the years I have maintained a fairly good level in the pool. Right where I need to be. Right below an hour for an Ironman swim and right around 30 minutes for a 70.3 swim. It’s too easy for me to maintain that. But after so many years of swimming I was tired of maintaining the same fitness in the pool 365 days of the year. Been there and done that.

I was relieved to have been given permission to be a slacker with the agreement to turn it on when I am told to turn it on. And that’s right now. Turning it on this week was a bit painful. But I am very grateful to have short swims instead of the hours I am accustomed to in the water. It’s short and sweet. Gets me in and out.

It’s causing me to fall in love with the water yet again. I never fell out of love with it. I just have been complacent for a few years.

Like I have said before you have to fall off balance to find your way back.

Just like a runner has theirs, a swimmer has their nuances. Like pulling on frozen swimsuits. Wearing 2 swimsuits and tying them together when they become worn. My swedish goggles are the staples of my life…..  I create them to fit just right. Rip a cap, just stick your hand into the bottom of any swimmer’s bag. There will be five more.

Most even have their childhood goggles somewhere in there as well.

That first dip into the pool always feels horrible. always feels cold. But 2 minutes later when the world is eclipsed by the sound of water and the sound of silence it’s like you have entered into a world all of your own. Yet that you share with 30 of your favorite friends.

You will never ever ever find me wearing an underwater audio system.

Posted in My Training | Leave a Comment »

h1

again

February 18, 2010

My head is down and my eyes are forward watching my feet turn circles in the mirror in front of me. I use the mirror for that reason. It gives me something to look at when I look away from the computer screen and the mountain that I ride towards yet never arrive at. The elevation…. the computrainer elevation comes to me and I ride with it shifting, maintaining, feeling my way through the “hills”. That’s how I ride….. it’s how I used to ride….. it’s how I love to ride. If I just let it all go I can find my way into the zone, into the wattage…. I can even tell you what my cadence is and my speed is. Without ever looking at a computer.

I allowed it to get too complicated lately. Power files and analysis have gotten into the way. But while I have learned to use these I have learned to look away. To only look down on occasion when I want to see if I can still nail it.

Tell me heart rate zone whatever and I can find it. Then I look down and am there. Assign me a cadence, give me 15 seconds I can feel it without looking. And when I look I am there. Tell me a wattage number you want. I can nail it and be spot on without looking at a number.

It’s the lesson I have had to go through. The lesson of connecting the mind and the body. I can do it in swimming. I have always been able to in the water. Now I am learning on land. On wheels and on foot.

With the addition of the gadgetry I got a little disconnected. I allowed it to be dictated by logic and numbers rather than what I feel in my heart. Now I feel it first and then I look. I have never been off. Not even by one number.

It’s what I feel inside of me that’s so much more powerful than anything a number or file can tell me. I know when I am on. I know when I am off. Uncertainty has fallen off the back of the ride. Off the back of the run. The confidence I have in who I am, in me is growing stronger with each turn of the pedals.

A friend emailed me yesterday and asked me if I would consider him a wimp if he pulled out of Ironman Lake Placid. He wanted to focus on life a bit more. I commended him. I have been there. I have also been around long enough to know that the passion we have for what we do is full circle. The opportunity will be there. The passion must be brewed like a good cup of coffee.

Water that’s too hot…….. grounds that are too fine……. one minute too long makes the difference between the cup of life and the cup of dirty water.

I don’t go into an Ironman half assed. I don’t go in with a cup full of dirty water.

Unless you wake up every morning in the winter with the feeling that you are dying to get to work…… not because you are afraid you are not good enough….. but because you know that you are……. then don’t go to the starting line. Love yourself more than that.

If you are motivated by being afraid you are not good enough then look in the mirror. What are you really afraid of. Not being good enough at a  sport….. that’s a cover story. Are you terrified that you just aren’t good enough….. at life?

That in itself is a story that drives us in unhealthy ways. You are the only one who chooses to measure that success and traveling through life in fear of not measuring up to your own standard….. I say to the ones around you to be careful. You will do desperate things to not fail. I have had too many of those kinds of people come into my life. I pull away from them like they are poison. They are the ones who will stand by your side while manipulating you at the same time. I run from them.  

Believe in yourself…..  and it becomes an entirely different scenario. Then you can authentically live and not have an ulterior motive. These people are the ones who hold your hands and mean it, who share their dreams and mean it, who love fully from their heart and will never lead you the wrong way.

As an athlete believe in yourself and what you can do and you will reach higher than you ever thought possible. Build upon what you have, what you are, what you do. It’s a feeling of quiet confidence that’s not measured necessarily in pace per mile or overall placing……. but how you feel when you cross that line.

There is nothing wrong with believing in you. There is nothing wrong with believing in a dream. There is nothing wrong with having the dream. But if you have the dream, believe the dream. Don’t ask to be believed in. No one can believe in something that is hollow and has nothing to stand on. Believe in something solid and you will in fact learn to fly.

For four hours in my basement at earlier o’clock than I can sometimes even imagine…… thoughts of not being good enough never cross my mind. feelings instead do. Feelings of nailing the paces and the zones and the pace without needing to look at a computer. The thrill of looking at the computer and knowing I can in fact dial in.

It’s not the way I used to ride. It’s the way I am learning to ride now. Smarter, better, from the heart. With patience, with passion, and with the confidence that it’s not something I am coming back to….. but something I move towards.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Older Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 124 other followers