Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop.

Pessimism is my default.
  
When things are going well, I expect everything to fall apart. When things are going badly, I expect them to get worse. With that sort of mentality, it's only a matter of time until I'm proven right. Every. Single. Time.
  
Right now things are on the upswing. I'm completing my workouts as planned and don't dread getting on the bike or feel absolutely wrecked afterwards. In fact, I feel pretty good. Fat, but otherwise good.
  
It's all relative. I'm not hitting the numbers like I was a few years ago. Part of that is I'm getting older, but a lot of it is I can't stick with any real structure. Intervals and the like aren't part of my days anymore, because I just don't have the motivation or discipline to make it happen. These days I'm happy if I can grunt out a mediocre effort for 15 minutes before I have to ease off. I realize my lack of structured training and my ability to hammer awy like I used to are directly related, but the connection between knowledge and action is just not there.
  
So, every morning I get on my bike not having a good idea what's there. I start cranking and figure it out as I go. So far, so good. It's only a matter of time.

My only real goal is to build a sorta base that I can use when I actually get a chance to get out on the road. Then I'll just ride a crap-ton of miles. Simple.
  
There is precedent. When I was last in Biloxi, coming off a broken collar bone and a serious dip in fitness, I didn't "train" and just rode a lot. Sure, I did some sporty group rides, but mostly I just rode around at a moderate pace. Lots and lots of hours and miles in the saddle. It built an aerobic engine that I just couldn't get from shorter, more intense rides. It was the best shape I'd been in for years, but as always, it peaked in the wrong time of year and was wasted on the trainer.
  
Wanky pretty much said the same thing in a recent post. Ride lots = get fit. It's positively old school in its simplicity. Merckx-ian. That's what's appealing to me. I like riding. Even when I was full-bore on the interval kick, I used to do a couple 3-5 hour rides every week. My steady diet of 60-90 minute rides over the last couple years, which were dictated by family and career, got me sorta "crit fit", but I really wasn't in good shape.  
   
I've probably seen my fitness peak. It was likely ten years ago. I want to see what the new reality is, though. I figure I might as well get as many miles in while I still can. 
   
...before the other shoe drops.

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