Friday, October 08, 2010

Just For The Record...

I've been riding...a lot.  I've some success this year...quite a few.  I've dropped weight...quite a bit.  I am feeling faster, stronger, quicker, more confident, and honestly...I feel like a cyclist again.

I've fallen off for a bit, but I have a renewed sense of self and with that the passion of what makes me, "ME".

Return to racing?  The jury is still out on that one.  It's small grin in the back of my mind.  I have thought about it, quite a bit actually and it comes down to commitment.  If I can't be committed to the training, I will not have the success to stay motivated.  That's the drive for me - have a goal, have a plan, work the plan to reach the goal.

Sounds simple?  It's not and that's the problem.  I'm in a different place in my life - more commitments, more complications, more distractions.  Success as a bike racer is measured in the small incremental bits of continuous improvement.  The commitment comes from harnessing all focus and establishing that "I want this" and with that comes a one year plan - a workout schedule, a dietary plan, time in the gym strength training, recording data every day and analyzing that data, getting someone to help me (feedback), and the racing itself...that is a huge commitment to consuming a full day for preparation, travel, doing the event, and then bringing it all home and putting it away until the next event.

It's daunting and we you are like me and my type of personality, it's hard because it's truly all or nothing.  I don't dabble and I don't quit.  Once I say to myself "I am going to do this", the next thing I do is tell everybody "I am going to do this".  That's what keeps me honest.