I was just thinking… My poor, poor body.
Today will be the 8th day in a row that I throw my body into the fire, expect it to sit in that fire and come out of it alright. Today I expect that my body–since I ‘gifted’ it 10 hours of sleep–will actually be better than days prior. Today I expect that my body has gotten used to this abuse and will therefore complain less to me in the form of pain. The whole day I will feed it small sandwiches, and keep it hydrated–so it will maybe shut up, just for a moment.
This is the ultimate abusive relationship.
I tell my body to do something it doesn’t want to do, and it complains and complains until it breaks. The complaining never stops, it only becomes more and more dull. The duller the complaining, the faster I go.
And what will my body receive from me when it does step up to the challenge?
Well, it gets to go through the same pain the next day.
And then in two weeks time it gets to rest, but only so it can come back to life with a better tolerance for pain. It comes back stronger and I reap all the benefits. Then back into the fire it goes.
But really, what would life be without pain and suffering? Where would be if we never pushed ourselves? Surely, you could sit on a porch swing your whole life, rocking back and forth enjoying the view… While that actually sounds like heaven to me now, I know that I could never be satisfied in life if I didn’t PURSUE something. Everyday here at the Vuelta I have to remind myself that what I am doing, while very unnatural, is something I would be going through no matter who I was or what I was pursuing. In life you have to fight and you have to push yourself. To better yourself you must first find your limits. And then you have to conquer those limits to set new limits…and so on and so forth.
Whether you are at a desk chair or in some other sport, push yourself.
Find your limits. Only you have the power to create new ones.
3700 meters of climbing today–my body is STOKED.
Later.
-tp
That’s great
Very wise and so aptly spoken. It would be the same no matter what you do in life. You’re a great writer. Keep up the great blogging.
This Vuelty is important for your development as a rider.
Enjoy today’s stage
One of the reasons I love pro cycling is the amazing things you do, especially in a grand tour. It’s like nothing else, and I gain inspiration from it.
Keep on keeping on.
And that, my friend, is what is going to get you through “[what] many are already calling the most brutal Vuelta ever” (VeloNews),
and that is what makes you a professional cyclist.
All of the numbers on paper and in the lab mean nothing unless you have the mindset to overcome the fear of pain and suffering – not to escape pain, or avoid it, or reason with it, but to acknowledge it, respect it, and learn to enjoy it, because if there is pain then you are still fighting. The pain only stops when you do. Then you are beaten.
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go”
- TS Eliot
Great post, as usual.
Very cool. Love the daily blog and philosophy. Best of luck.
Nice, great analogy, well written, are you sure you’re head banging cyclist? More philosopher poet, I’d wager, thanks.
Goooooo T! Great riding and writing – much appreciated insights into the life.
xx
Great writing T. I’ve always liked this quote, and you are doing it proud::
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings;…., if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt