cyclist – Page 2 – sassyfitnesschick

Conquering Your Mountains

Conquer: to successfully overcome, to climb ( a mountain successfully).

I had just returned recently from one of my long rides out on the bike when I got a message from my daughter in law. Actually, it was a photo of my new granddaughter, wrapped snuggly in a towel after her bath.

Her big eyes wide open and alert, her tiny nose peeking through, she looked quite content and comfy.

After responding with the usual… ” eek I love her, she’s so cute”… I tell her that’s what I need…

A shower.

I’m in desperate need of it as I’m now sweat dried and dirty from the road. I told her I had finished up 32 miles to which I get this response…

“you crazy woman!” ( this is a high compliment indeed haha)

It was followed by… “I’m so proud of you for conquering the bike while you can’t run!”

I really don’t think she knew how much those words meant to me.

I had certainly been on a bike in the previous year, but it was a cheap little bike I had picked up from the local Wal-mart and certainly not designed for the things I had been doing to it. I thought the guy at the first bike shop I went to was simply trying to sell me something pricier when I told him what my riding goals were. I was kind of ( ignorant) to some aspects of cycling at that time… now I know…

I should’ve caught on when during a longer ride the handlebars had come loose and I had to physically manhandle them into place to finish the last 5 miles of my ride.

Cheap bikes aren’t meant to have the life ridden out of them 😛

It was June of this year when I got my first, real, professional road bike. A hot little black and red Cannondale. I found another bike shop where the guys there have taken me in and taught me essential things, and also challenged me on another level as well. It’s also kinda cool to have a place to land where you can talk about your athletic goals and they listen, offer encouragement and suggestions.

So, since June, I’ve been out on the road a lot more. I’ve added more miles, and learned to not be intimidated by crazy monster hills that make me think they’re gonna eat my lunch.

I’ve sharpened my mental muscle a lot more…and I thought it was pretty tough from all that marathon training…but like any muscle…. there’s always room for growth.

Cycling is work. Often hard and demanding work. You learn to enjoy the downhill moments ’cause you know more hard stuff is coming at you.

Not only that, there is learning about your bike, all that shifting stuff (gah) and also learning how to push yourself more. It’s easy to sometimes stay in your comfort zone, it takes work to get out of it.

So I thought about that whole “conquering the bike” thing.

Being an endurance runner, I will admit, the move to cycling was rather seamless for me. I already had a lot of strength and discipline from distance running so physically it fit me well.

But It’s not just that…it was learning to conquer:

perceived limitations, my assessment of my abilities, getting out of (yet) another comfort zone, mountains, hills, and more mountains to take on, conquering the mechanics of the bike and riding in a different way, conquering self-doubt when the next step seems to taunt me that (what if) I don’t have what it takes? It’s also new skills and having an open mind to be taught and learn.

Conquering a new sport when running has been my “baby” for the past couple years. Hey, at this point, why settle for one sport ? 😛

So I reflected on those simple words she spoke to me and soaked them in… they have come during rides to remind me what I’m capable of, what I’ve learned, and more importantly how I’ve grown and learned.

I’m not done yet. I have so much room to grow, learn, get stronger and better and what I’m doing. But I am confident, I will continue to conquer it.

So I’ll leave these words with you, my faithful readers.

What have you conquered? What seems bigger than you and you find yourself digging deeper to overcome and conquer something you previously didn’t think you could do ? It’s in the journey that we learn and grow but if we are strong and persevere we find we have everything we need in us to conquer and overcome, no matter what it is.

img_20161023_101435 — On top of one of the mountains that challenge me 🙂

So I May Be A Cyclist

How did it happen? How did I go from nothing… to walking… to lifting some weights and other heavy objects… to running… and then landing on a bike? And then… alternating doing it all?

Like… one sport isn’t enough ??

Evidently not.

I may be a bit of an overachiever. Or at least I have some bigger aspirations to see myself do more than I may have originally thought.

Ok.. so the cycling thing.

I’ve kinda just fallen into it almost by default. I’ve shared before I had gotten a cheapy mountain bike to use for cross training on days I might not run.

There were weeks the bike sat doing nothing. I was happy in my little running world.

Then I’d zip off for 7-10 miles and that would be that.

Until… a stupid injury entered the picture and sidelined the running ( it is still there… cycling doesn’t seem to make it any worse or hurt me… running stirs it up again…sooo… yeah enough on that nagging topic)

So the injury put me on the bike more. It gave me freedom, the miles I craved, the ability to still do some endurance work and more speed than my legs on land could generate.

Fast forward through two cheap bikes till I got my first “real” road bike 2 months ago.

She’s so pretty and we’ve become amazing friends.

Like all new relationships, we took some time to get to know one another. So for a week I kept mileage short and just got the overall feel of my new wheels under me.

After that, the fun and games began.

Miles started getting longer. I started to take bigger hills. Pushing myself faster. Loving the challenges of working hard. Really loving flying off hills pushing the speed limit 😉

Sweat flying, heart beating strong, legs working… the thrill of feeling my body respond to what I’m doing.. watching the world fly by… powered by only… by.. me.

I’m learning all the strength I’ve built on the road running and all the indoor strength training is having big payoffs on the bike. I think with more training I’m going to be kind of beast like with this cycling thing.

Once you get the bike.. and then the bug gets you… you start doing stuff like this….

20160718_091938 — And doing crazy things like this….

IMG_20160630_123545 — Or look like this….

IMG_20160712_120615 (1) — and at the end, you learn to appreciate Gatorade, even if I do think it still tastes like sweat.

20160728_213323 — Then at the end…. you get to see your accomplishments 🙂

So yeah, I’m not sure, but I think the cycling bug has bitten me and I can hardly wait to see where my lovely new Cannondale and I will go together .

Tell me… is there a sport or activity you are passionate about ?

The Athlete’s Heart

athletes heart

The heart. It’s pretty standard equipment in all human bodies. This amazing organ tucked inside your body pumping blood to all your cells and organs has been beating since your mother was only four weeks pregnant. Did you know that ??

As I’ve gotten more athletic it’s become more important to me to understand things like my heart rate, my training heart rate, and my resting heart rate.

This incredible organ we must remember, is a muscle and it needs trained and conditioned just like the muscles we can visibly see if we flex our arms. Perhaps conditioning it is at the TOP of the importance list.

The best way to exercise your heart is by doing cardio exercises ( stuff that makes you breath hard and sweat. This is what most people don’t enjoy doing because this is when they realize they are “really” out of shape)

Ok that being said, I mentioned in a post a week or two back that I had gotten the new Garmin Vivoactive HR which has a heart rate monitor built into the watch and I can literally track my heart rate in normal day activities, training times, and when I’m at rest.

I’ve been fascinated with the fact that endurance athletes begin to develop lower resting heart rates from all of the physical training they go through… it’s that cardio stuff again 😉

I will try and not get to complicated on terms and what not but….

the interesting cause of an endurance athlete having lower resting heart rates than the general population is basically how the heart adapts and basically enlarges due to the training the body undergoes. Heart rhythms for which the elderly require pacemakers are normal in the trained athlete. This slowed heart beat is a condition called sinus bradycardia.

Athlete’s heart most often does not have any physical symptoms, although an indicator would be a consistently low resting heart rate. Athletes with AHS often do not realize they have the condition unless they undergo specific medical tests, because athlete’s heart is a normal, physiological adaptation of the body to the stresses of physical conditioning and aerobic exercise.

Athletes tend to have lower resting heart rates because training programs that build speed, fitness, muscle and endurance also train your heart muscles to pump a higher volume of blood with each heartbeat. Ultimately, it takes fewer heartbeats to power a well-conditioned athlete during intense training as well as during rest.

During intense exercise, the hearts of highly trained athletes pump as much as twice the volume of blood as the hearts of untrained people.

While the normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute, conditioned athletes and other highly fit individuals might have normal resting heart rates of 40 to 60 beats per minute. This indicates a high level of cardiovascular fitness.

This is where I’ve found having my heart monitor on my new watch to be rather fascinating. In the month I’ve had it, it has tracked my heart rate in daily activities, during my workouts, and my resting heart rate. Maybe I’m a little nerdy but I kinda like all those stats 😉

Thus far, my resting heart rate seems to land in the high 40’s to low -mid 50’s. Although I’ve had a few nights were my numbers were 38 and 34! My rate in my normal activities stays in the 60-70’s. Needless to say, I’m in triple digits in heavy workouts 😛

This again is proof and reminds me that my heart is a muscle that needs worked, trained and challenged to stay strong and not have to work as hard because it’s “in shape” too. It also gives me an idea of my fitness level.

My husband has been in the cardiology field for many years now. So of course, you know, I’ve asked him questions and bugged him about this. When I feed him my numbers his usual response to me is… ” you have an athletes heart”. He tells me if we saw a ” normal” person with some of those numbers we would be looking to see why they had them ( as in, it would indicate possible heart problems)

There are some non athletic individuals who might naturally have a low heart rate that can simply be a product of genetics.

Others, if there is a consistent low heart rate might indicate possible problems and should be evaluated by a cardiologist.

So bottom line, your heart is not only amazing in that it pumps blood, non-stop, your entire life, it has the ability to grow, get stronger and change to work more efficiently while neatly conserving energy.

Even if you have no plans to become an endurance athlete, your heart still needs good doses of cardio too! Make sure you’re getting it at least 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day.

And I’ll close this with a few fun facts about your heart you might not know….

A kitchen faucet would have to be turned on all the way for at least 45 years to equal the amount of blood pumped in an average lifetime.

The “thump-thump” of a heartbeat is the sound made by the four valves closing.

And finally, if you need any more encouragement about heart care consider this…

the heart does the most physical work of any muscle during a lifetime. The power output of the heart ranges from 1-5 watts. While the quadriceps can produce 100 watts for a few minutes, an out put of 1 watt for 80 years is equal to 2.5 gigajoules.

Are you an endurance athlete? Have you seen your resting heart rate change?

If you don’t work out, do you find cardio work challenging? Do you understand the need to train our heart as much as the outer muscles we can see?

F.E.A.R.

fear

Growing up I was an avid reader. I still enjoy reading and I like reading on a wide variety of things only now I can do it on my phone, my computer or in book form ( ok I’m still really old school and love nothing more than going to the library and picking out some books, call me a nerd)

One author I readily devoured, was Stephen King. Why?? Why? I’d ask myself when half way through I realized I was terrified. It had crept up on me as subtle as the morning dawn… fear. It gripped my heart and made me drop the book and go find something wholesome and distracting to do so those feelings would subside.

I swear Pet Cemetery left me jumping at every random scratching sound and had me sleeping with one eye open and I couldn’t blame that on Metallica’s music 😉

Geez. He’s so good at scaring you and making you fearful.

Yet, what was scaring me was nothing more than the extreme and deep mind of a gifted writer. I really had nothing to fear.

Yet how often in life can fear grip us when we really have nothing to fear? Fears of the unknown, of “what if”, of what would I do, what if this happen? etc. etc.

Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn’t feel it, we couldn’t protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason.

Look at that last part again…. hang back for no good reason.

What fear causes you to hang back from something or leaves you worried or causes you anxiety for no good reason?

I was thinking this past week (one night when I was supposed to be falling asleep) about a long ride I was going to do the next morning. The long ride wasn’t what was troubling me. I knew I could handle the mileage. What I was feeling a little fearful about was what I’d encounter on my long ride.

A hill that twisted and turned, which I guess you could say, led up to the top of the mountain it actually was. There was also another significant hill on my route, I felt fairly confident I’d nail that ok.

But this other one, that was troubling me. Ok, if I’m honest with you, my readers all over the world, I was a bit fearful.

discard fear

Why??? That next morning with the miles building under me and settling into the rhythm of the road, it was in my head, a presence almost taunting me.

It left me fearing my abilities, or perhaps, lack thereof to take on something so formidable. I’m fairly new to the world of cycling and I was riding on terrain where they run one of the toughest cycling races in our state.

Did I have what it would take? I knew I was strong but was I strong enough to muscle that hill ?

What I knew I had to get on top of long before I got there, was my mental game. I couldn’t go into that without my mind firmly being in place. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as an athlete, my mental game has to be as strong, if not stronger, than my body.

Fears, will cripple your mental game.

So I began to mentally talk to myself what was I afraid of? Really?

I was afraid of not being able to do it, of failing.

I then asked myself, and what if I couldn’t, what was the worst that could happen?

EEK.. get off and push it up the hill??

I was afraid I wouldn’t have the physical strength to do it, that somehow , I’d be lacking.

Fear can cripple us from moving forward, no matter what it is in our life we want to take on.

I didn’t want to “hang back for no good reason”. I wanted to face what it was head on and know that I could do it. I knew once I tackled it, it would not seem as insurmountable as next time.

The sun was out high in the sky although it was still morning. Sweat had already soaked me and was running down my legs and arms, my gloves were wet under my hands. I felt my legs respond to the incline. I tried to make my breathing as focused and even as when I was in childbirth, slow, steady and measured. My heart, it let me know if was doing it’s job 😉

I took that hill, I focused on each pedal stroke, tried to keep my breathing even ( which was pretty hard!), and knew that when I got to the top I’d be back on my “regular” training ground again.

I was so afraid that thing was gonna eat my lunch.

It didn’t.

I did it. I never let that fear come back that I couldn’t. I felt victorious.

You know what? I just did that hill again yesterday. I have a very healthy respect for it. But you wanna know something?

I improved my time from my first attempt….so there’s that…. I went up it faster.

Fears can cripple us. They can hold us back and keep us from new victories, in all areas of our lives.

I love this quote from Zig Ziglar…

“F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget everything and run” or ” Face everything and rise” the choice, is yours”

I’ve heard this before, and well for me, face everything and rise is where I’m at.

Now, what about you? Do you have fears that hinder you or cause you to hang back from living? What will you choose? to rise? or to run?

fear 2

Cycling Adventures

If you missed my post a week or two back… I got a new bike. A cool red and black Cannondale that weighs almost nothing. My first venture into professional bikes.

I feel like one of the big kids out on the road

In the few weeks since I got it, the two of us have been on some adventures together. In the first week it was really about getting to know one another… somewhat like a new relationship.

I kept my rides shorter… 7-9 miles… as I got used to shifting (ugh this is still something I’m learning) and letting my body get used to the new positioning on this bike ( you seem to use muscles in a different way, and something TOTALLY new for me, being clipped in to my pedals.

I now understand, and know why cyclists walk they way they walk haha… those shoes with the clips…

There is, I believe, a skillful art to getting on your bike, clipping a foot, beginning to pedal, and clipping in the other.

I wanna ace that move seamlessly… I’m so… close.

So… I do know this.. when you fall over… you come unclipped haha

It really was silly on my part… I was getting on my bike in our side yard which is horribly uneven…my new bike is also taller than my cheapy old one so I have to stretch a bit more… I had one side clipped.. somehow over corrected.. and BOOM… I was down… and unclipped.

Yes I was fine and so was my bike… but I was annoyed with myself. You have to understand I have a high expectation level for myself. I want to nail things pretty close in the first couple attempts, especially when I’m doing something new.

Let’s just say now I’m hitting the road, and clipping while I’m pedaling.. I’m getting there 😛

The second week in I was itching to just do some long miles and see how it all felt. I made my first 23 mile ride on it, which was kind of amazing.

Those miles are always involve hills and lots on constant inclines… not a bad thing.. but definitely work for the body.

Yes, those are hills behind me. Yes, I ran off without my gloves, watch and water on this ride. At least my head was covered.

I’m still learning the fine art of shifting and hills and getting the right gear for when I hit it .. you know .. just the right amount to pedal.. but not be so hard it shuts me down.

I feel like Dory from Finding Nemo…

Just keep swimming,
Just keep swimming,
Just keep swimming swimming swimming,
What do we do we swim swim swim

Only for me… just put pedaling in there haha

I did my second long ride this past week. I guess it’s a good thing to be finished and still wanting to do more?

Ok as mentioned, the bike is super light, and I’m really learning to move my legs faster to get that speed going.

That speed, is a head rush, a cheap adrenaline thrill.

And then, when you’re flying off big hills, yeah I pretty much lay low and enjoy the blurry ride down.

Admit it. If you’re a cyclist you do too. It’s the reward for torturing yourself going up hills 😉

I’ve learned to skillfully pull my water bottle out of the cage, drink, drop it in all the while pedaling and not crashing.

I call that a win.

I think as I start getting out farther and need to eat, it will be way easier than doing it while running.

Of course being on a bike also means having eyes all over my head to dodge cars and wild life.

Today a deer and I had a close encounter when I went flying onto a side road. I had moments to ponder… ” are you gonna move deer?”

That keeps things interesting.

Clothing. Other than wanting to get set up with the right shoes for the job, I’ve kinda been winging it in my running attire. And since it’s like… crazy warm and summer time… it’s a sports bra and boy shorts for the adventures.

I can’t help it. I just love feeling the sun and wind on my skin…. and the sweat. Let’s not forget all the sweat haha

I did actually purchase my first pair of cycling shorts, I’m thinking if I’m gonna be on that bike for a lot longer mileage, they will come in handy 😛

So for now, in the upcoming weeks, my goal is to keep moving my miles up, pushing myself on speed, heading into more hills to get super skillful on shifting with them, and looking for my first race to actually ride in.

Oh… other goals? To be so good I can be flying down the road, snap a super cool road selfie, and not crash in the process. I’m kinda jealous of some amazing road picks I’ve seen…skill level… high.

Cycling has been a good fix for me to get miles in while I’m curbed with running. I’m excited to see where I can go with it, how I can improve and ways I can challenge myself.

Tell me… have you began any new adventures in your life?

As Easy As Riding A Bike

So I took my bike out for a few miles yesterday.. first sunny day in quite a while… I soaked it up. I also went out for some miles this morning.

Big deal you are probably thinking, slurping your morning drink, you’re always on your bike or doing something crazy.

What’s new?

True. The difference is I just bought my first, real, professional road bike. Or as one of my friends put it, “oh, you’re getting one that’s the price of a new Kia!”

Haha…. well not that much I assured him…. maybe just a good used Kia 😉

I’m excited to be getting more serious about this sport. I know I’ve written about some of my cycling adventures, but this far consider myself to have been dabbling in it. ( although some of you would laugh at my 20ish mile rides as “dabbling”)

I’ve had an inexpensive road bike I’ve ridden the wheels off of, I’ve literally used all my running gear to ride in, and other than having a helmet and something on my bike to track distance, those have been my nods at anything “cycle” related.

I just got on my bike… and started riding.

Fast forward… through a series of events… I was a local bike shop… fell in love with a sporty, fast, red and black Cannondale and knew I was going to get it and take my athletic skills with a bike to a whole new level.

And I picked my baby up on Friday.

But not before they put me on the bike and tweaked, adjusted and made me ride it to make sure everything was in alignment for me.

I’ve never, ever had a bike that fit my 6’0 body like this one. Nor, have I ever been able to fully extend my legs on one. I can actually lean in and over the handlebars flying down the road and not feel like I’m gonna go over the front. There’s a lot more bike under me now. Of course, it’s a whole new adventure because my body… is now positioned very differently… so I’m learning to adjust to how that feels from how I’ve been riding.

And light. Can I mention it barely weighs anything? I’m learning to make adjustments in certain ways for that.

Oh yeah. And all the shifting…let’s not forget that part. I’ve determined it’s a skill to really get it perfect.

I got some schooling on clipping my shoes into the pedals ( if you can call those tiny little things pedals haha) and I have to admit to feeling a little weirded out like… “I’m locked onto a pedal… how the heck do I get my feet disengaged? What if I crash?? And how do I start and stop and all that stuff??” I didn’t know, and you probably don’t either, but clipping in gives you a lot more power on the bike. I’m all about utilizing my power as much as possible, so as long as I was going all out, got the pedals to clip into over the cages that came with it.

Eek! So much to learn.

That old adage, as easy as riding a bike ? I think that is really only applicable when you’re 8, riding a bike with a banana seat, your feet are what stops you and the only gears are how fast your legs pedal.

That’s easy.

And cycling is more complex than buying a good pair of running shoes and hitting the road haha

New challenge now accepted.

If there’s one thing I preach to people when they start looking at some type of exercise activity is to 1) make it something you want to do and will look forward to doing 2) be an excellent student of it.

That’s how I’m approaching moving deeper into the world of cycling. I’m learning from people who know, I shamelessly pick their brains, and I intend to apply the knowledge and be the best I can at it.

I have goals.

A duathlon is definitely in my sights and now I have a team at the cycle shop who can help me become the best cyclist I can. ( A duathlon, if you don’t know, is a run, cycle, run event)

For now… I’m doing some short rides (7-10 miles) just playing with the bike, getting to know it, getting used to having my body stretched out on it, learning how it handles, LOVING how fast it moves even without pushing hard right now before I head into longer rides.

The speed is a complete head rush 😛

I can’t hardly wait to get out on some long rides… to get so comfy with the bike I can push the speed… and to really log the miles.

For now… just a few baby steps before I head that direction….soon…very soon…

That’s my new adventure for the week boys and girls 🙂

tell me.. are you starting any new athletic adventure? or expanding on one you’ve been pursuing ?

20160606_082633 — Wrapping a morning ride 🙂

Those Voices In My Head

I was only a few miles into my ride yesterday morning when they started.

The voices.

Not the “I’m crazy and hear voices” kinda voices… although…. I am crazy… but in that good kinda crazy way…anyway… I digress….

I left knowing the weather was less than impressive. Foggy, wet, drizzling, soupy… overall kinda just yucky.

The kind of weather sane people stay inside and OUT of.

bike weather

My thought was… “oh, it’s gonna be clearing out soon” but that thought was leaving me as I watched water dripping off my helmet and I had to repeatedly pull of my glasses to clean them ( yes, even on dark and wet mornings glasses are essential on a bike)

rainy cycling

The voices started talking…. suggesting things like…

“So this weather isn’t so nice, you can just do a short ride and head home”

“Do you really feel like riding so far out ? All those hills you know? in this weather ?”

“Do you really have the time to ride so far this morning?”

“Knocking a few miles off won’t really matter… really… it won’t”

The annoying chatter continued.

I started considering some of the things rolling through my head. I guess it wouldn’t matter if I cut my ride short… would it ? And yeah, the weather wasn’t so impressive…

I began to mentally push those thoughts away, slowly and deliberately.

You see, I have had some experience with those “voices” as my athletic adventures have unfolded these past couple years.

Those voices offer excuses. They offer an easier way out. They try and convince you that you don’t have what it takes. They tell you that you aren’t strong enough, fast enough, young enough… whatever….They try and keep you happily in your comfort zone.

Our comfort zone is where we stagnate and die.

I first heavily encountered “the voices” during my first marathon in 2013. It was the end of November and a ridiculously hot 89 degree day. Running was brutal under the solid blue sky and unending sun. By mile 21 I was praying for deliverance. … but I am to stupid, crazy, stubborn to ever give in.

The voices started reminding me that the cool down buses were “right there” where I was running. I could go in and cool off for a little and then continue the race. It would be so easy.. just stop for a few minutes. After all, I had been working so hard. 21 miles was a long way, and even longer when the heat was so unbearable.

I passed one, and kept moving. The next one, the pull was stronger. The call louder. I did feel weak… weak against the temptation of what was offered and physically… I was getting depleted on almost every level and it seemed so easy to give in to it.

But I knew better. I knew physically if I just stopped what my muscles would do. I knew how hard it would be to start again and go back out into the heat and finish those last 5.2 miles. I knew how I’d be so displeased with myself when my time suffered ( I’m so competitive with myself)

I stomped the voices down. I refocused on my goals. I dug deeper in myself beyond what I thought I had in me to finish that race. And I did… it was the sweetest feeling ever crossing that finish line physically, emotionally, and mentally spent. It was one of the most victorious moments of my life.

Marathon 2013 -2 — Exhausted, yet feeling over the top victorious, after a brutally hot first marathon.

You know what I gained that day? Strength. Strength in knowing that I could overcome and prevail and I had more in me than I understood at that point. I learned that there would be times those voices would rise up to convince me I couldn’t do something or didn’t have it in me and that I had to fight right back against them.

Oh, there have been many other times since then. But now I know what they’re about…those voices are from the weakest part of me… to a great degree I’ve learned to tame them, stomp them down, and press on.

So back to the bike ride…. yeah… you know now what happened. I reminded myself that if I quit, how disappointed I’d be that I had given up. I thought of how I was not only getting physically stronger, but mentally too. That if I was to get to my goals of doing a bike race it would take hard training and training in not so ideal weather. I reminded myself that I would run in weather like I had that morning, cycling wasn’t so different ( ok yeah maybe I shouldn’t take those curves and stuff as fast 😉

The more I pedaled, water dripping off me in the foggy morning, the more determined I got and the quieter the voices became.

I finished up my full ride of about 20 miles… and it felt pretty darn good on more levels than one…. and by the time I was done… I had dried out 😉

A reminder, perhaps to you. When you feel like giving up and quitting, don’t. Your biggest competitor is within you…. that is who you work against every single time.

When the voices rise up against you ( and I know… some of you will totally get this) push back, work hard, and don’t give in to them.

There’s a new, stronger you, waiting to emerge.