Kicking My Own Backside

Today proved to be quite a comical exercise in how the brain works. In talking with my friend Peter, we discussed why it is that some days seem easier to work out and others harder. Peter posited that perhaps it's more mental than anything else -- seems to make sense, after all, especially when you've had similar rest, food, training, etc. I guess I was a bit skeptical, but not anymore...

1 Hour Foundation Bike Ride

You see, I hopped on the bike this morning with what has to be the wrong mindset. When I see the words foundation bike ride, my mind goes off to some park with a cruiser bike and streamers hanging off of the handlebars. Thankfully, I have the power meter to keep me a bit honest, but even if I set that to 180, we're talking about a heart rate in the 150's (hardly high exertion), a comfortable 15-16mph, and an hour later I'm hitting the showers feeling accomplished but not fatigued.

My company on the bikes didn't help any either. The woman next to me was seriously wearing a headband circa 1975 with a head of hair that resembled Will Farrell in that terrible basketball movie he did last year. She hardly seemed to be pedaling and a quick peek at her screen told me that she had covered 9 miles in over an hour and had an average heartrate of 94. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand that Lance Armstrong probably has a 94 heading up the Alp D'Huez, but this was not because of supreme fitness -- she simply was going for a stroll. Not that I mean to criticize -- I, of all people, understand that people do their own thing, but it didn't do a lot to pump me up as I pedaled along halfheartedly at the start.

Then I caught a glimpse at my own screen. Turns out that while I was keeping the pacer in my rearview mirror, there was a "ghost rider" who was taking me to the woodshed. In my first five minutes of riding, he had already created a one-minute lead on me. Who was this ghost rider? A little more research let me know that it was myself just nine months earlier... Guess what -- I had my jackrabbit.

For the next fifty-five minutes, I pedaled at a rate that barely would have allowed me to carry a conversation. This particular route had a couple of very steep (40-50%) inclines and I attacked them with all the energy I could muster. Believe it or not, I never gained any ground on myself and ended up "losing" by nearly a minute and a half. Nonetheless, on a day when an hour of pedaling alone would have done, I ended up averaging nearly 18mph (a full two better than I had done on Tuesday during my power ride) and probably lost about four pounds of water weight.

I am now as convinced as ever that your body will do what you ask of it on most occasions -- even on days when you seem sluggish, it might be in your mind and not your legs. Sitting here five hours later, I can tell you that I feel strong, I feel (truly) accomplished and I feel wonderfully motivated. I wonder how I felt nine months ago when I kicked my own #$% -- hopefully, I'll be back there soon.