So I received some lectures for my post yesterday, and rightly so (apparently, even my use of the word 'bonked' was a bad choice, although I have no desire to find out its other meaning. Each hemisphere has its own way of mangling the English language. Those Aussies probably wince at the word 'bonked' the same way we do when a Brit asks if he can bum a fag.) Anyway, I probably have a tendency to embellish a bit, and I really wasn't as bad off as I made it sound. I was just trying to point out that I'm not laboring under a delusion that a few weeks of training is going to turn me into an unstoppable endurance racer.I know nutrition is important (I had Alpha-Bits for breakfast - now featuring "0 grams of sugar" and "rich in whole grain like Cherrios, plus has letter learning fun!") And I know training is important (Three-mile run and 45 minutes on the trainer today, thank you very much.) And I'm learning that understanding when to say when is important, too (although I think that actually having both the time and determination to overtrain would only happen in my deepest dreams.) But when I'm down in the trenches, pushing my bike through torrential drifts of snow, all of my preparations, the Alpha Bits and the evening jogs, will fade into memories of a pleasant but distant past. In those dark moments, everything will be a battle of wits, Jill against herself. I think my best defense against the dreaded "scratch" is gaining an understanding of what my body can do when it's running on little else than Power Bars and pure will, and train myself to extend that fuel a little bit further.
Ha! Had to go to Wikipedia to find out the Aussie version of bonk. Now that I know, I may have to do it more often -- I used to speak with pride that I hadn't bonked since that nasty day out in Colorado back in 2000....
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Rest Schmest!
ReplyDeleteTell those worry warts to bonk off!
Just kidding, good luck in your training (and your resting)!
yeah that's pretty funny :)
ReplyDeleteIts not often that I view a profile that says "likes to bicycle in horrendous conditions",and yes, girl, you really mean it! That's one of the reasons I enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful picture!
ReplyDeleteNo use worrying about slang from other cultures, too much to keep up with. I use the phrase "head bonk" on my blog as the thing that cats will do to you and to other things they like as an affectionate gesture. The other word for it is "head butt" but then you're getting other into another word with alternate meanings. Oh well...
Rest is definetly important, but so is training yourself physically and more importantly mentally to get through the periods of low energy. This is especially true if you'll be racing 100 miles in the snow! My training regime is similar to yours (i.e. I work full time, live in a cold climate) and about once every two weeks, I get hit with a serious bout of no energy. I've learned that these are just an offshoot of living a busy and physically demanding lifestyle. You just have to plough through em! The only thing to watch out for is when it starts to feel like a job and not a hobby. At that point, its often useful to swear at your bike, go buy a sixer and attempt to not think of riding till you get the itch again....
ReplyDeleteI say it again, you are an inspiration. But I still fail to destroy my demons. I planned to ride alone last night, but failed to do so.
ReplyDeleteI worked on the bike for about an hour, walked outside, felt the icy cold mist, felt the cold wind and saw the temp was dropping below 32 F.
Brought the bike inside, put away my gear, and battled my mind for an hour thinking that I should have gone for my ride.
After another hour, I brought the dog outside and noticed the rain turned to sleet and there was a nice layer of ice forming on everything. I'm glad I didn't ride
"they" say that the difference between true athletic greatness and just being good at something is what fuels the MIND. in other words, you can train and train and train (until you puke, basically) but what really matters is how you deal with the pain emotionally when faced with it. you just have to decide to do it. it sounds like you have. but still, that physical training can drown the wildest dreams if you don't listen to when your body needs rest.
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