My goal was to get in a minimum of 8 hours straight working out, I only accomplished 7:20. The morning started out with me very tired and not wanting to get out of bed, but a cup of coffee and bowl of oatmeal, and a motivating father got me moving. Within about 10 miles of mounting the bike I was starting to wake up and not act in such a zombie fashion. I was pretty sure Rick was about to jump out of the woods and take my head thinking I was a zombie. I gradually started to become more cheerful and carry on more conversation. I'm pretty sure Dad had no idea how much I would actually talk while training - he did help raise me so he should know I am a jabber jaw and when sitting on a bike for hours what else is there to do other than talk to pass the time.
As we continued down the road I experienced confusion as we rode over the road markings that were very clearly painted to mark a bike course, how did we not know there was a bike race or tour in our county, we still haven't figured out what event it is, but it goes at least as far south as Lakeview and at least as far north as Big Rapids, it even passes down Buchanan right by our house. All that discussion about a potential area race led me to get excited about potentially racing in the area and I started to see our pace increase! As we kept rolling along the pavement the clouds started to roll too, unfortunately the black clouds rolled right on top of us and we ended up in a col rain. I maintained a positive attitude, there is something about suffering in conditions that most people would not undertake that just makes me feel invisible and like my favorite superhero, the man of steel, Superman. But, Dad did not share my enthusiasm, he told me we were "calling it" and rang Mom to have her pick us up in Cadillac. I was disappointed, come on Dad we got this it's not that bad I kept telling him. He reminded me it would be hours more in the rain, our breaks were not as good in the rain and it was simply not safe on the road, so I accepted that we would be done in Cadillac.
As we continued down the road, my mind set on stopping in Cadillac, the clouds started to break. Dad called Mom and told her to never mind and return to the cottage because we were now going to be able to ride the whole way. I literally cried out "mommy noooo", are you kidding Dad, I'm ready to be done, you can't play these mind games with me. Now that I was ready to stop in Cadillac I had to switch gears to ride the final 50 miles, this is a ridiculous roller coaster ride of mental and physical emotions. Now I'm just annoyed and feel like my life is that of one led by a torturous slave driving lunatic, Dad. As we kept pedaling along I gradually pulled myself out of the slump and accepted I had to ride all the way to the cottage. About 30 miles out Dad pulled away from me on a hill, not acceptable as I am supposed to be a good climber, but I just had nothing in my legs. At the top of the hill we stopped at a local store and I was feeling quite deprived as I did not have enough money to get my midway, long ride reward, nut roll. But as I exited the store to see a local country guy lifting Dad's bike in amazement of how light it was, a smile returned to my face. We then listened to the guy talk for about 5-10 minutes, boy was he friendly. Come to find out he was an HVAC guy just like my dad. The next 30 miles were rough, I lost Dad completely and when he waited for me I told him to just go and thankfully for him he did. I spent the last 20 miles going slower than I thought was possible, wondering if I was going to fall over and never move again. I kept pedaling along, the only thing keeping me going was the thought of coffee and baileys, then I'd think, mmmm wine, then all of a sudden I would be craving Kaluha cake. Those three items were my best friends the rest of the way home.
As we continued down the road, my mind set on stopping in Cadillac, the clouds started to break. Dad called Mom and told her to never mind and return to the cottage because we were now going to be able to ride the whole way. I literally cried out "mommy noooo", are you kidding Dad, I'm ready to be done, you can't play these mind games with me. Now that I was ready to stop in Cadillac I had to switch gears to ride the final 50 miles, this is a ridiculous roller coaster ride of mental and physical emotions. Now I'm just annoyed and feel like my life is that of one led by a torturous slave driving lunatic, Dad. As we kept pedaling along I gradually pulled myself out of the slump and accepted I had to ride all the way to the cottage. About 30 miles out Dad pulled away from me on a hill, not acceptable as I am supposed to be a good climber, but I just had nothing in my legs. At the top of the hill we stopped at a local store and I was feeling quite deprived as I did not have enough money to get my midway, long ride reward, nut roll. But as I exited the store to see a local country guy lifting Dad's bike in amazement of how light it was, a smile returned to my face. We then listened to the guy talk for about 5-10 minutes, boy was he friendly. Come to find out he was an HVAC guy just like my dad. The next 30 miles were rough, I lost Dad completely and when he waited for me I told him to just go and thankfully for him he did. I spent the last 20 miles going slower than I thought was possible, wondering if I was going to fall over and never move again. I kept pedaling along, the only thing keeping me going was the thought of coffee and baileys, then I'd think, mmmm wine, then all of a sudden I would be craving Kaluha cake. Those three items were my best friends the rest of the way home.
I arrived at the cottage, slower than ever, to put on my running shoes and head out for a hilly 8 mile run. I had hope that with the run my legs, mind and body would turn a 180 and everything would look better. 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, ok maybe at mile 5 I will feel a bit better as that seems to be the trend lately for how long it takes me to warm up. Mile 5, cramps, mile 6 more camps, ok this is NOT pretty. I struggled through the entire run focussing on one mail box and telling myself to work hard until the next one, then relaxing a bit and then picking another mailbox to focus. I got back tot he cottage and saw on my watch that I had literally just ran the slowest pace I have ever ran in my life, demoralizing.
Though the workout itself was not a positive workout I can honestly say I learned a lot. I had said I wanted to suffer so I knew what it would feel like to suffer for an extended period of time. I suffered and I know that as long as I can make the cut off times I can suffer for a long period of time and I can finish IRONMAN. The issue is I would prefer to gain a bit of enjoyment out of life while doing IRONMAN and not suffer the entire time, but if I do I will at least be happy at the finish and always have that sense of accomplishment. So, I guess CHEERS TO SUFFERING to experience the biggest accomplishment of my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment