Athlete Blogs
May 5th, 2009Rain Rain go away (and other un-fun things)
Well, we went from one week of perfect weather to a bunch of rain. Nothing good about that, except getting rid of some pollen in the air.I was planning on doing the lowes TT tonight - but the weather is bad for sure, could be strong storms, not worth the 4.5 to 5 hrs of car time there and back. Not tonight at least.
This year I really have taken an approach to racing and training that is less serious, less obligation - more about having fun. If I don't want to ride in the rain, or do another interval or drive some long distance for a race, then I won't. Maybe I'd rather have a martini with my wife instead. Life's too short to spend it in some parking lot on a sunday afternoon, if you don't want too.
Now I do love riding hard, racing hard and getting good results. Therefor just about every morning I'd RATHER be on my bike, working hard then sleeping in. But I find I'm more willing to pass on a race, skip some ride or whatever if I'm not into it or I have a better offer, like spending more time with my wife and family.
One of my athletes recently was telling me how riding, training had become a stressful part of his life, one of many high stress things going on. It should not be this way at all - we are not paid professionals, most of us do this for FUN, plain and simple. How we define that fun may differ, but it should not detract from your life or make you miserable. If you don't want to do it, be that a race or whatever, then don't! But, if your goals are important enough then doing the hard work, training, etc will not be that bad.
I actually find more enjoyment out of training and improving than I do out of racing, sometimes. There are certain #1 priority events that I cannot wait to do - that I wouldn't miss for anything. Hell, I almost lost my job last year over going to nationals! Good thing I got to go.
Tomorrow will likely be an indoor workout, same on thursday.
