I started the day with a strength workout in the gym. I did a 5x5 routine of:
1 arm pushups
weighted ring dips with a 12kg kettlebell
double getup situps with double 20kgs
Once the sun came out and I got a couple hours break in the afternoon I hit the road on my bike for 22 miles. It was fantastic to get outside on the bike, but it's humbling to realize that, as fit as I like to think I am, I have so far to go. I think about the goal I've set for myself and I think about the amount of miles and effort that will need to go into it. I think about crossing the finish line on top of Mt Washington in agony, lungs ready to explode. Hopefully I'll look at the clock and see something under 1:10. But if I don't, it won't be because I didn't put the effort in. It's what I do. I set a goal, and I go after it with everything I have.
I was thinking today about how what I'm going through right now is the same battle that everybody has to face at some point. Regardless of whether you're a high level athlete, a weekend warrior that likes to compete, or somebody who has spent the last 15 years letting themselves go and wants to get back to the way they were when they were playing sports in high school. We all have something to aspire to. Depending on your starting point and where you see yourself getting to, the task can be daunting. I look at where I want to get and I know it's going to take about 300 hours on the bike and 5000 miles in my legs. It's the kind of thing that can make a person say "Screw that, why put myself through it?".. Or how about the person who has put on an extra 50 pounds and wants to get back in shape? They have to realize that it's going to take a lot of effort, in the gym and in the way they eat. Many people will give up before they even get going because they get too far ahead of themselves and become overwhelmed. I know the feeling. Here's an example. When I signed a lease on the gym and started getting the place ready the windows were covered in plastic and had about 5 billion staples in each of them. As I started work on the first window I looked around me at the 15 giant mill windows all in need of de-stapling, hole-filling, sanding, scraping, priming, finishing. Never mind the other work required (shower rooms, floors, etc), the lack of help and money. It would have been easy to give up. It seemed like it would take years to get to the finished product that I envisioned. But I kept at it, never lost focus (lost my mind a couple times.. hey, it happens) and eventually got it done.
Every goal can be achieved. It takes a singular focus and it takes determination. Words like "can't" have to be stricken from your vocabulary. The only limits that you have are the ones that you place on yourself. That's a fact. If I want to meet my goal on Mt Washington, then I have to put a training plan together that's going to get me there and I have to stick to it. And there's times that it's going to suck... A lot... This is no different than what the person has to do who has spent the last 15 years on his butt, eating crap, putting on 50 pounds and wants to get rid of it. He has to put a plan together, start exercising hard and eating right. And there are times that it's going to suck... A lot... And when it sucks a choice has to be made. We can choose to suck it up and push through the pain, whether it's mental, physical, or both. Or we can quit. To paraphrase Lance, "The pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever". My little 22 mile ride today hurt. It hurt physically because I pushed it pretty hard a couple times just to test myself.. It hurt mentally because I realized how far away I am from where I want to be. Despite all that I can't wait to get back on the road as soon as possible and do it all over again so I can be one step closer to where I want to get :)
If I can do it you can do it. If you need some extra help and motivation to get you where you want to be then I will be happy to help you get there. See you at the gym!
All the best,
Kevin
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