Perspective
Sometimes it’s good to put things into perspective…..
Perspective: When I have a bad race, I recall what being a beginner feels like. Last Wednesday’s race at Reni brought much humility. I went out hard and held on to the 1st place rider’s wheel for the first 2 miles. I couldn’t see the 3rd place racer. Then, my body would have no more of that. I hit the wall and was passed after the first ½ lap (mile 3 of 12), and struggled to finish the race. Everything was cramping, and I bonked rather completely. Very humbling.
The next day, however, I was reminded of how far I’ve come. I got some pictures back from the women’s only beginner skills clinic that I led last Saturday. (We had 33 enthusiastic women and girls out there!) It is very inspiring to see women just starting out, and reveling in tackling parts of the trail that I take for granted that I can ride. I remember being “new” and feeling like I could never get through the steep learning curve. Every ride was an “event” in my life. Every log and root was a challenge. Riding then was an adventure. Nowadays, it’s still fun, but in a different way. I don’t have to concentrate as much but I don’t have as many small victories. Now, I ride for the sake of loving to ride and feeling strong and powerful.
Practice in the field during the Women’s Only Beginner Skills Clinic:
Hitting the trail - the first uphill:
Perspective: When I realize, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no, I am not, nor will I ever be, an elite cyclist, I come to grips with realizing and living up to MY own potential. I went for the VO2max and RMR testing last week. It was a good deal for people who had done the Per4mance Training winter series. I learned 2 things from these tests: my metabolism is impossibly slow, and I’m fairly average when it comes to typical athletes. My RMR (resting metabolic rate) is very low, which may explain my weight loss struggles. Weight Watchers isn’t cutting it anymore for me - it doesn’t take into account fueling needs for racing. I’ll start working with a sports nutritionist in the very near future to work out these issues.
In the realm of VO2max, I was just curious more than anything else about this number. The test is hard but short. In the grand scheme of things, I’m well above average - for the average population. I asked how I stacked up against the people that went to Per4mance for their testing - a generally athletic, endurance-athlete, racing-type group. According to the tester, I was right there in the average, maybe a point above average. But average nonetheless. (Not really any surprise there!)
With that said, I don’t want to resign myself to being “average” just because that’s what the numbers say. I ride because I like to. I race because I like to push myself. I may never go Pro, or even Expert, but racing with others in my Sport group is fulfilling and challenging. I want to push myself to MY highest potential. These thoughts remind me of Teamdicky’s comment last year about these racers that win the big enduro events - they are just “regular” people. They have committed to finding their potential and pushing their own limits. (OK, so I’m paraphrasing.) Here’s his post:
“Back in the 90’s I was lucky to stand on a sport class podium. I used to read about people like John Stamsted and Rishi Grewal and I was in awe of thier accomplishments. A few years later I jumped in and tried it and the next thing I knew I was racing Stamsted and I was standing on a podium with Rishi.
You can admire what they do, but they are just like you. They just choose to push themselves further. Everybody should test their limits. You only got one shot at living so why not see what you can do with it.
I carry a quote with me at work from Stamsted:
“Endurance feats are great up to a point-and then they just become slogs that everyone has the physical ability to do”
……I just thought people should know that she (Heather Mosely – last year’s Burn winner) is just like you and me. Eat, sleep, work, dream.”
Rich, your comments have stuck with me in the last year and inspired me to push myself more to find out what I am capable of doing. I want to push myself as far as I can and still have fun riding.
If only my legs looked as good as Teamdicky’s in a skort!
Perspective: When I think there’s no way I’ll get through next weekend’s 24-hour race, I remember thinking how crazy a 12-mile ride was. I remember when all I could handle was a half-lap at Renaissance (3 miles). I used to reserve rides at Catawba for days when I was “feeling really good”. Then, I got to the point where I could ride Catawba all the way through with only one or two stops. The thought of doing 2 laps at Catawba for a Sport race was overwhelming (12 miles). Fast-forward two years - I did 11 laps at Catawba during last year’s Cowbell Challenge. I’m attempting the Burn 24-hour Solo this year. That seems like a lot of riding. When I think about it all at once, it’s as overwhelming to me as those first 3 miles at Renaissance were 6 years ago. Again, it’s all about perspective. Break it down into smaller chunks. Take it one mile at a time.
And, as always, have a Mimosa when you’re done!
