climbing, a new story

in 2011 i completed 2 ironman distance triathlons within 7 months of each other.   this means i rode a total of 224 miles in the races alone, that mileage does not include the hours,
upon endless hours i spent riding through the valley, along the coast in california, pre racing in nevada and camps in utah to prepare me for those two races.

sometime after that i lost interest in road biking and went back to the habit of running.  it was easy enough to do, after all i don't really "enjoy" road biking.

recently, i've developed a hip issue just in time to train for my first 50 mile run through park city, utah.  i attempted running last week and on my 8 mile day had to walk the last two with the popping sound in my hip to keep my cadence.  i was discouraged, after all running is what i do.  i don't need coordination, or expensive equipment, i don't need to remember how to change, repair or fix anything i just lace up my shoes and go.  i'm slowing wondering if perhaps that is the point.   maybe i focus on the easy far too much, the comfortable, the control.

take this for instance,  when i run if i see someone ahead of me and my competitive side kicks in full gear i know all i have to do is push myself and move my legs faster.  i'm shockingly pretty fast and probably should have maximized more off of it in my earlier days but my point is this, i know how to run, i know how to run faster, i can probably sprint faster then most 37 (almost 38 year olds)  and i have full 100% control.    i can pass that person and then maybe make the next left turn to fly solo again and grab my lungs from the side of the road, but i can pass them, running.  because its what i know.

when i ride a bike its a whole different ball game.  you have to learn new things, you must respect the road, be aware and fully be willing to succumb to the chance that at any given moment you can face plant into the concrete going 30+ miles an hour.  i'm often intimidated when riding and that probably hurts my performance the most.   take today for instance,  i decided since i couldn't run i would ride (for the first time in a year, on a road bike at least)   i somehow ended up with the entire BMC team.   wait, let me clarify, i ended up getting schooled, like i've never been schooled before going up the canyon by the entire BMC team.  If i had to guess i was traveling up the mountain at a conservative 8 MPH, yes that is correct 8 MPH.  and then i heard them behind me and then there they were ahead of me, serious faced and on a mission.  they kicked my ass.   i grew slightly discouraged and then realized this,... climbing a mountain is not an easy task it takes hard work and dedication, it takes time and effort and skill.   things that previously i wasn't willing to do and they were.

i'm re reading donald millers book,  a million miles in a thousand years and in the book he describes how important it is to create a story of your life.   if i keep running, it will just be me going through the motions, nothing new to challenge myself other than upping the mileage.   after my bike ride today i felt accomplished, even though i got a quick lesson in humility.

so maybe what i mistook for not enjoying riding was actually me not willing to create my own story, its harder that way.  i finished the ride,  2.5 hours later and maybe now i'm ready to re start that story i started in 2011, climbing until i can't climb anymore.