Everyone in my universe has heard me go on and on about taking on the BC Bike Race this summer. While many people in my circle could do it off the couch, it’s a daunting endeavour for me. I’ve been training diligently since October, and still, I’m uncertain that it will be enough. My race goal is just to have fun. I know it will be hard in places, but I want to be strong enough to push through the difficult moments and have the fun exceed the struggle. Last place would not faze me in the least.
There’s no way of knowing if my training will be enough to meet my goals. I’ve never done a 7-day stage race. The 2 other mountain bike races I’ve done were both 3-day races, through vastly different terrain.
There are so many unknowns, so I’m focusing on what I do know: I have to do the work. I have been so consistent with my workouts, day after day after day. Putting in the training is also my defense against the gremlins that will undoubtedly creep into my thoughts in the dark moments. When the voices start to mock me, asking what was I thinking signing up to do a 7-day stage race, the hours on the bike and in the gym will give me the confidence to know that I do have place in the race.
The best part about starting so late in life, from the bottom rung, is that the only way to go is up.
I have limited racing experience, and limited training experience. Learning to train for the first time in your 50s is probably easier in some ways. There’s no ego involved. I don’t care how it looks, how slow I’m going, how low my FTP is or how bad my Strava looks. This is my journey. I’m never going to win anything, I just want to show up knowing I’ve done the best I can to prepare for the race and have fun. The best part about starting so late in life from the bottom rung, is that the only way to go is up.
Training is proving to be all consuming for me. It dictates my schedule, it dictates what I eat, so how I shop, how much I sleep, how I socialise – ok that’s not true, I don’t actually socialise, but if I did, it would. I have a new respect for anyone with a real job and a family also trying to train for an event. I am grateful that my time is my own and that my schedule is flexible, I have no one to answer to about my time on the bike, or the amount of recovery time spent on the couch with a cup of tea and my book after my rides. Or the naps that often follow when the book slips from my hand.
You get to decide what you want more
I’m learning that training is empowering in so many ways. It’s building a discipline that I didn’t know I had. On the couch on a rainy morning, I get to choose: do I snuggle into the couch and have regrets during race week, or do I do what I have to do and go out and get it done. You get to decide what you want more, and for me, that’s an easy choice. This awareness, of how daily decisions direct your life, get carried forward to other aspects of your life.
Again, when the race gets hard and my thoughts turn negative, I don’t want to think, “if only I hadn’t skipped those workouts”. I am hoping that when it gets challenging, I will have learned that I can push through the hard moments and keep turning the pedals.
Here’s another crazy thing about training. You start to choose those awful climbing trails you avoid at all costs when just riding for pleasure. Then something magical happens: you get better at doing the hard things, and doing the hard thing makes you stronger so you get even better at doing the hard thing. It’s compounding growth as all aspects of riding become more enjoyable as you get stronger.
My training includes 2 days a week in the gym lifting heavy things. Lifting weights isn’t glamorous! I look dumpy and frumpy with my uncool workout clothes and making faces as I push through the last few repetitions. Some of my weights are just little, but you have to start somewhere. There are other exercises that I can do with a dumbbell so heavy, I have to brace myself to lift it off the rack. Every single time I put that weight back, I am so thrilled with my effort. Inside my head, I’m strutting around with my chest puffed out, so pleased with myself. Doing this work is making me stronger, physically and mentally. Every time I do something I didn’t think I could do, I see over and over again that I am stronger than I think.
I’m nervocited about the race, but feeling really good about where I am 5 weeks out. I hope it goes well, but here’s the thing. It doesn’t actually matter. If I have a mechanical, or a crash or can’t finish for whatever reason, none of what I’ve built over the past 7 months is lost. Finishing the race doesn’t define my success. Having done the work to show up well prepared is how I will measure my success on race day. After that, it’s just 7 days of riding bikes with my friends. Being a BC Bike Race finisher would just be the cherry on top.
Here’s to having my best week on a bike with some of my favorite people.