when you can't ride

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Plummer on June 14, 2010 at 10:03am

I went through this last year. If you check out my blog posts from all of '09, you'll see what kind of rollercoaster season I had. I used it as a springboard. All I know is that this year I came out of the gate stronger than I've ever been in my life and I haven't looked back.

It's easy to say now, but if I could go back and do one thing differently, I would have let last year go when I realized my training plan was shot, which happened very early. I would rather have committed to having fun with the year, and not beat myself up so badly, second guessing everything & searching for all kinds of reasons why things weren't working out right.

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Permalink Reply by Booksy on June 14, 2010 at 5:33pm

Day by day. Your result at the race is only a small part of the experience. Be good to yourself, don't beat yourself up about a lack of training. Get out and ride/race when you can, enjoy doing what you're doing when you can't.

I've been recovering from a torn ACL and broken fibula since February and it's opened my eyes to the imbalances of my life. I've had to let go of the need to be fast, fit, and healthy and had to embrace the healing process. My Physical Therapist has told me I shouldn't race this season, but I'm just taking it day by day. I think I'll be racing by October or November.

Don't focus so much on how you think the future will pan out. You can't know. Day by day.

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Permalink Reply by Beth Hamon on June 15, 2010 at 9:41am

Thanks.

I went out to the course trial for our short-track series last night and even though I was still weak, I felt well enough to ride about a third of the course, including some goofy technical stuff in the single-track section, before I needed to stop. I am hopeful that another week of rest and limited bike commuting will help and that I will be able to race again before too long.

@ Plummer: my issues (particularly, living with Crohn's and taking up racing at a rather late age) demand that I stay aware of my body on a micro-level every day, so I am mostly able to NOT compare myself to the hordes of fit young MEN these scenes tend to be populated with. That said, a flare-up can still be a cause for frustration and I appreciate your reminder that we do this for fun.

@ Booksy: All the best with your recovery! Joints can be tough and slow to heal. (I know.) Keep at it and keep stretching. An occasional offering to the Physical Therapy gods can't hurt, either...

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