Thanks for the Mantra

I like mantras. They work for me. I think this is because it is easy for me to empty my mind and allow the mantra to help me focus. Being shallow and vacuous really helps with the mind emptying.  I used a couple of mantras when I was trying to lose weight last year. I have a new mantra this year that I am using to help me focus and train for my first 100-mile ride. And I need it because I really fell out of shape fast over my break in December.

A friend of mine (Clem) inadvertently gave me the mantra last year. He has been cycling for a very long time and had offered me some advice when he learned I was preparing to ride a century. He was thinking I intended to ride a full century, but really I was gearing up for a metric century (100km or 62 miles—big difference). He told me that most people hit some difficulty at around mile 85 and I should plan to ride through it.

Now, Clem is from New Hampshire, so he’s got that understated way of answering questions like many New Englanders. You’ve heard the stories. An out-of-town traveler is lost somewhere in New England and he pulls up to an old guy working in his front yard. The traveler asks, “Can I get to Nashua on this road?” The old guy responds simply, “Nope,” and continues his yard work. The traveler persists with, “Can you tell me how to get to Nashua?” Again the old guy gives only a short reply, this time without looking up from his work, “Ahyep.” Exasperated, the out-of-town traveler drives away.

I once asked Clem why I was experiencing pain in my quads when I did rides longer than 30 miles. His only response was that I was pedaling too slowly. Now, if I had been talking to him face-to-face I could have stared at him blankly until he expanded his response. Since this was done via email, I was left to be annoyed and wonder what the hell he meant. After some research, I learned that he meant I was using too hard of a gear (therefore pedaling too slowly), overtaxing muscles designed for short, powerful bursts of energy, and wearing those muscles out to the point of pain. If I used an easier gear (and pedal faster), I would use muscles designed for lower effort but longer-term exertion…and my quads wouldn’t hurt and I would be able to ride longer distances. He was right.

So when Clem told me I would experience “some difficulty” on my century, I knew there was a lot more to it than a little spot of trouble.  I’ve done enough endurance kinds of things (hiking the AT, 50 miler canoe trip, long-distance running) to know what he meant by “some difficulty.” That “some difficulty” is an emotional crisis spurred by your body hitting a low physical point. I am sure there is a good biological explanation for when it comes and why and I suppose if I studied it I might find out how to avoid it or mitigate its effects. For now, I am content to know what it feels like…there is self-doubt and even panic as you question whether you can do what you have set out to do. You either convince yourself that you can’t do it and start making plans to quit or force yourself to continue on. Forcing yourself beyond that impulse to quit is not easy, emotionally or physically. Clem’s sage advice…plan to ride through it…is classically understated, but spot on.

So now as I’ve started training for a real century this season, and Clem’s words are planted in my head…plan to ride through it. So now as I visualize doing a century, I think about just riding through different kinds of difficulties…“at mile 85 a beaver will begin to slowly chew your foot off at the ankle—just plan to ride through it…your left lung will slowly collapse leaving you gasping for breath—just plan to ride through it…your lower body will become completely numb and then feel like pins and needles—just plan to ride through it.”

 

I’ve already gotten to put my new mantra to work while riding as well. I want to build a base of about 500 miles on my new bike before I go into any specific training routine this winter and I started that seriously this week. Of course, I’ve started that with a new bike, new body position, and with feet clipped to the pedals. My body needs to get used to all of those changes and it also needs to get back into the idea of riding long distances. Both are proving challenging. I rode Monday and Friday, each about 30 miles, and struggled both days. In part this is because I’ve recruited a whole new set of muscles into my cycling thanks to the clipless pedals, but I also have lost a fair amount of conditioning.

Yesterday was particularly hard. I did the first 15 miles at too fast of a pace and faced a strong head wind on the return ride. The end result was that my last 15 miles was a sufferfest. Fortunately, I knew what I was in for in short order and I just planned to ride through it---which I did.

So, Clem, thanks for the mantra.