“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
–Lyndon Johnson
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I had a bit of a mental and physical breakdown at the end of July. I was in the middle of a race, just watching people pass me by, with absolutely no motivation to make it to the finish line. I was in a daze; uninspired, just logging through the course, tired and completely miserable. Although I made it to the finish line, I felt defeated.
I had a good cry on the phone with my mom after the race (yes, I'll admit it). I performed so poorly in the race that I was embarrassed for myself. I wasn't embarrassed because of my terrible splits. Rather, I was embarrassed that I had lost my competitive edge. I had lost that fire under my butt that I had so much earlier in the year. I had lost my competitive spirit and my ability to really 'race.'
So, instead of pushing through and upping my training following week, I decided to take a week completely off to really think about things. Did I really want to keep training through November? Did I really want to race again this season?
After a few days of just relaxing after work (aka being a 'normal' person), I was able to think more clearly about what was happening to me. It's not that I was sick of training, like I had first thought. I was just sick of the WAY I was training. I wasn't tired...I was stagnant. I was so used to training by myself that I had forgotten what it was like to train with other people.
I firmly believe that to bike fast, you have to practice biking fast. I also believe that to run fast, you have to practice running fast. And, to race well in competition, you have to race in practice. However, forcing yourself to bike and run fast in practice is nearly impossible unless you have others to push you. And, practicing racing is totally impossible unless you have your competition there beside you.
It was for those reasons that I found new groups to bike and run with. I have since been biking almost every weekend with Florida Pro Cycle and running at least once a week with iRun Company. Since I made the change, my training has been revolutionized. I feel faster. I feel happier. And I'm pretty excited to see what I can do next weekend at Escape to Miami.
So, stay tuned...
