Bike...Ow...

When I woke up this morning I could feel all the muscles I used in yesterday's ski adventure. I had two choices. I could take it easy on the bike this morning, or I could push my boundaries. One guess at which option I chose...

I had a 1:45 hour bike and I was going to rock it. I had a 23 minute warmup, then got right into the gist of things. 5 x 5 minutes in a gear hard enough that the max rpm I could sustain was 60. After each set I'd do 2 minutes of squats, holding the squat for 2 seconds each rep. After that session I went into 6 and 4s. 6 minutes holding in high zone 2, low zone three heart rate, then easy for 4 minutes.

The 5x5's, surprisingly, weren't too bad. Although strength is, well, my strength. What I need to improve upon is holding that strength for long periods of time, which is what the 6 and 4s were about.

During my first set I realized I wasn't pushing it enough. I was tired but knew that this is the time when I had to dig deep and work harder. I had nothing to distract me, it was just me, the four walls and my dream of being a better cyclist in the dungeon. So I pushed harder. During the four minute set I didn't let up either. I wouldn't allow myself to drop it into a spinning gear. By the last set I was sweating so much that my bandana was saturated and I had a steady flow of sweat dripping onto my bike tire. I felt that was a pretty good indication that I worked hard!!

Pushing myself physically is all tied into pushing myself mentally. Breaking down the barriers of 'I can only go this fast' or 'I'm not strong enough'. Not always an easy task to do when you train solo, but I'm up for the challenge.

When I got off the bike, ever sooo slowly, all I could think was 'Bike. Ow'. I was smiling though. All of this is money in the bank.

I may not be the fastest or physically strongest competitor in Ironman, but I plan on having a bomb proof mental attitude that is going rock the race course.

Hooyaaah!!

Peace out my friends!