Twcyle Training - week 1

The Manly Steed and I embarked on our first weeks training in the week just gone, and bearing in mind our (my) current state of unfitness didn't have too bad a week before other pressing concerns (meetings, beer, sushi) got in the way!

Thursday : 12 miles

Saturday : 15 miles

Monday : 22 miles

So 49 miles in week 1 - not bad off 3 outings.

As I pedalled along, I was trying to think of how I deal with either a) the physical pain of a hellish long slog (Berridale Brae, anyone?) and b) the mental pain associated with a lot of time on the road (sometimes with 60 miles ahead and only 20 done it all gets a little daunting to me...!)

It's strange, and I have a confession to make.

I get odd little tunes stuck in my head which used to annoy the hell out of me, and I would spend ages muttering to myself about how repetitive they were and couldn't I please just think of something else, while getting more frustrated and therefore not enjoying my ride. What I have found is that they actually distract me from difficult situations (16.5 stone man cycles up a hill - there is a LOT of gravity pulling him down towards the bottom!) and so I actually now tee up the right songs for the right occasions.

The confession:

Childhood songs keep coming back to me at odd times, or possibly Disney ones. My current mantra for going up steep hills is Hakuna Matata from the Lion King. (cough) Coming down hills is an extract from Herbert the Hedgehog (search and you'll find him still...) If you Google it you'll see why this can still drive me a little insane after 3-4 days of it...

Don't judge me - you weren't there, you didn't see me weeping on the side of the road that time.

Also, in a weird way, I have to just find that still place inside me where nothing can get at me. I have said many times that for me, cycling is mostly mental and if your head isn't in it, it goes very slowly.

So when I'm coming to a difficult time, my legs are burning, my eyes are stinging from sweating so much and my lungs feel like they are literally about to explode out of my body, I try to just relax into it, accept it for what it is, and know that every revolution of the pedal gets me that little bit closer to the pub at the end of the rainbow...