It was a late night (midnight), so 5:53 came early, actually it was right in the middle of a dream that I can no longer remember now. It was still dark, but I knew I'd need extra time to get all my things together and ready to ride. By the time I was ready it was light but the sun wasn't up over the horizon yet.
Monday has been my 'interval' day for many weeks and so it was today. My Garmin died (I didn't charge the battery after Saturdays ride) when I got to the dam, so I used my CatEye to just mark laps and did an interval every 2 minutes. With out the HR info, the goal of the interval was simple: from a cruising pace, shift into a higher gear that will require 10-15 seconds of out of the saddle pedaling to reach a high cadence and then sit down and try to continue accelerating as long as possible; once acceleration stops try to maintain; once I can't maintain then start recovering for the next one. The intervals lasted anywhere from 26 - 44 seconds. Today there we 11 of them over the duration of the dam.
The thought I had for today was that it's not always how well you do that matters, but often its the perseverance and continuing on and eventually finishing that matters. Specifically I'm thinking of the pursuit of challenging goals. The reality hit me this morning that it's quite likely that I will not be able to do a sub 5 hr century in the ride next month. But, that's OK. I won't know until I train and attempt it. So, for now I will continue with that goal and work towards it.
My conclusion: On Mondays where it's windy and challenging to get up ... just getting up and doing the work will have a reward in the depth of our character: something that can be drawn from in all areas of life's challenges - not just physical training.
[PHOTO: windy morning today]
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