Monday Musings

Happy Monday boys and girls! For me it’s Sunday evening as I write this and my body is in that happy, tired kind of place. Tired from a good bike session this morning, 20.50 miles to be exact.

I love the feeling that comes from a solid, strong workout. The way my body kinda wants food all day, the ache of muscles well used, the satisfaction of doing hard work. I love it.

I’m used to working hard in general, but there is something about my athletic “labor” that makes me feel fierce, even if it might leave me tired by the end of the day.

I should say that when I got up I had thought I’d ride “a few miles” to shake out my body from the fun of deadlifts the day before.

You know how people complain of just general aches and pains? I’d rather have tight muscles or wake up wondering what I did to myself the day before then having aches and pains from doing nothing.

Anyway, my sleepy mind quickly remembered all those deadlifts which explained some muscles reminding me they were there 😛

Once I got warmed up with a few miles under me my mind started deciding exactly what I wanted to accomplish on the ride. I thought about these crazy hills that are a part of the duathlon course and how I had only ridden them last year.

Why? I’m not sure. I love riding down the biggest one frequently (hello fast speeds) but I felt intimidated about riding them back up.

Now this in theory sounds kinda crazy right? I just told you I rode them in the race. I should add, for the first time in the race. I thought the course ended before that so I hadn’t ever practiced riding them … till that day I had to… and I nailed them.

So it shouldn’t be a deal to be doing it but I haven’t been. There is another set of hills, equally as mean and tough that I do more often.

I decided today I was just going to do it. I had to silence those voices in my head that were trying to convince me that I wouldn’t be able to do it.

I engaged my mental muscle reminding myself of all I’ve done, all I can do, and how strong I am. And really? what was the worst that could happen? Have to push it up?

For the record I’ve never had to do that on any big hill….

So off I went.

As I sailed around the corner leading up to it I just focused on letting my body do it’s thing and work with the bike… I was shocked when I found myself easily on top of it.  But once you crest that hill, it drops off immediately down the other side ( it should be mentioned this is really a paved over mountain) it’s about a half mile down to the cul de sac, make the turn, then pedal back up where I just came flying down.

Again, I got to the top a bit shocked at how easy it had been.  Perhaps a nod to my other cross training should be mentioned here…

Let me tell you after that, I kinda glided home those last 6ish miles in a happy place.

 

Hubby calls me a machine… or a beast.. both terms I weirdly love. But I do tend to forget that I am strong. I am capable of doing some pretty strong things… like taking on big monsterous hills.

I’m fairly certain I’m not the only one who can at times, get hindered by voices that try and convince us we aren’t enough, or lack, or can’t do something. I’m usually good at stomping them down and I had decided I had let these stick around for to long.

What was I afraid of? That was the root of it….

Failure.

I want to do things and I want to do them well. If I do something I like to be good at it.  But when I stop and take things apart, sometimes it’s not as big of a deal as I thought it was. Those voices fade as I take control and exert that mental muscle I rely on so frequently.

I guess that has helped me a lot get to where I am today as an athlete. If I stopped and examined to closely things I thought about doing, I’d probably run the other way!

So the take away here is…  if you want to do something (sometimes) you may have to stomp down those voices or reasons in your head that make you doubt yourself. Pursuing big goals and big dreams requires ( I’ve learned) a healthy dose of fearlessness and not looking it to closely in the eye.

You square up, hit it head on, and do it.

And I’m gonna say, when I’ve accomplished big things that I never saw myself doing? Well I’ve learned more and more about getting out of my own way.. cool things happen when I do.

All that work makes me sweat…..

Seriously, even in the earlier morning hours, with the work of my body and the warm air it’s a sweat fest.

Of course that means proper hydration and good nutrition.

I may have mentioned in a previous post I’m all about light foods during warm weather and namely I love experimenting with salads. I can add so many various ingredients to them depending on my mood or items I have on hand.

Maybe I should do a salad business too haha. My kids give me a hard time for adding fruit into my salad but I love the contrast of flavors and really, the more variety, the less I think a salad needs much dressing on it.

This one is loaded with colorful veggies and some fruit and a healthy amount of grilled chicken for protein for those muscles and to keep me from getting hungry later on.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different textures and foods for an interesting lunch plate!

Other life stuff…..

Have I blabbed much about my furniture adventures lately? Ok well, here’s my newest….

This is actually a base to a vintage china cabinet. I’m gonna repurpose it into a buffet/sideboard type thing. I’m plotting a “new” top for it along with some sanding and some minor repair work it definitely needs.

Did I mention that I’m keeping this one 😉 Actually there are a few pieces I’ve wanted to keep but I’ve really had to develop a catch and release policy haha

 

Ok I’m not like, a carpenter, ya know? I mean I’ve learned to do a lot with hands on in this stuff by just doing it. However, I’m fairly sure the huge nail in pic above is a bit…overkill….

Yes, the door is off cabinet and I knew I would have to find suitable screws and get the poor thing installed again. But first….surgery to remove that nail… seriously…..

I’ll keep you posted on it’s progress 🙂

I actually have a few things in various stages of being worked on and I’ve sold some this week so that’s always a win too.

Some days… ah.. I just need more hours!

Before I leave you….

Hubby and I were on a date last weekend, finally, finally got to see Deadpool 2.

I love his dark, snarky, sarcastic nature and funny ongoing comments through movie. I giggled over some things long after they had passed.

Was I the only one focused on him wearing crocs in the opening scene and how totally goofy it was? and that it was meant to be that way?

Hubby however, didn’t have the same appreciation for much of his humor.

No matter what though, it’s always fun when we get time away from the hustle and activity of the household, to just be us for awhile.

Even if he does think my choice of movie sucked haha 😉

Tell me… have you seen the movie? Did you like it? have you seen any good movies this summer?  Considering my opening comments, have you ever struggled to push down thoughts you couldn’t do something or you didn’t think you had what it took to accomplish it? Anything new up your sleeve this week ?