I am healthy and beautiful & the art of asking for forgiveness not permission

The out pouring of support I got after my last post was remarkable.  I’m so happy to know that I have so many people who support me.  I’m blessed with good people in my life.

I am healthy and beautiful was the positive ritual that I read this morning.  I like it you know I do.  I like to spend time in the mornings focusing on health both mental and fiscal before I start the day:  So, I got a book with positive mantras in it and I read it just about every morning.  I am healthy and beautiful.

The next to last ride:

Saturday was supposed to be my last ride outside until after surgery.  So David came up and we set out at 9:30.  The photo from above is from that ride.  I kept meaning to take a photo on the ride but I kept forgetting.  So we took one when we got home.  Better late than never as they say.  

The ride Saturday was great!  It was supposed to be a hilly ride.  I honestly thought I had put together one for us.  However,  either I am a much better ride than a year ago or the first hill we went up just is not as bad as we remembered it.

We went out Vasco to Dalton and we’re heading out to Manning.  What I remember the most about ridding Manning last year was David bitching about it.  Mostly because he isn’t a Peyton Manning fan and I am.  We had also ridden 3 or 4 hills by the time we got to Manning back then.

So sort of like Peyton in the playoffs this Manning was a let down.  It was only like 400 feet of climbing.  We did it with fresh legs at the outset of our ride and we crushed it.  I am not going to say it was easy because going up is never really easy, but it was not too bad.  Definitely of the the three climbs we did on Saturday Manning was the easiest.  I want to believe that I’ve grown as a cyclist and I know I have, but I think like the 2010 Super Bowl this Manning just gave me really bad memories.  

We ended up doing 31 miles on Saturday.  We went 46 minutes longer than we were scheduled but that ok because when you are out there enjoying the morning there is nothing better and no where I’d rather be.  

One thing I did notice on the way home coming back over Greenville 4 is how strong I was coming up and over that hill.  Yes I was in granny gear but I was crushing it.  I was going 8 mph and I had a cadence over 100.  A year ago 2.5 hours into a ride I would have never been able to do that going up.  So I know that I’m stronger now than I was.  It wasn’t a fluke either because I had seen the same thing in the way up and over it the week before.  I really am a better cyclist than I was.  Then again I am healthy and beautiful so what did we expect.  Also coming down Greenville I was flying.  39.2 mph and loving every minute of it.  The whole reason we go up is so we can come back down with the wind in our face and feeling alive.  

David and I were both really tired after the ride.  Kona was happy we got back home.  She is always shows David more love when we get back from riding.  I think he must keep bacon in his bike shorts.  It was a great ride, I enjoyed it.  


The Art of Asking for Forgiveness:

I am not one to ask for forgiveness.  In work or life I tend to be one who asks permission.  I know I do it at work:  I know I do it in my personal life.  I also do it in my training.  

This am when I was outside with Kona, telling myself and her that I was healthy and beautiful.  I realized what a wonderful morning it was.  The weather was perfect.  The sky was blue.  I realized I was getting an itch and an itch I needed to scratch.  I wanted to ride and I wanted to ride outside on this beautiful Juneteenth morning.  I had the day off.  I had no plans.  I had a date with my indoor bike and zwift in the afternoon.  So, I called an audible.  Instead of pinging my coach and asking for permission, I said I’d just ask for foreignness and it was settled.  I was going outside for a ride.

It wasn’t going to be an epic ride.  No nothing like that.  Just a ride out to the end of Greenville and back.   Four nice little climbs and some good downhills remember the 39.2 mph from the other day.  

So I put in on my new Bike Indiana jersey.  It’s a little snug but hey why not.  It’s not lien anyone is checking me out on the bike.  I don’t look good in any bike jersey.  So a little snug we can deal with.  Thoughts are appreciate ;). Pics available above.  Lol!

The ride was great and I’m so happy I went out.  Turns out I didn’t need to ask for forgiveness.  Like always Jenn was 150% supportive.  It was a beautiful morning and I rode good and felt strong.  The interesting thing the entire way out I kept telling myself “I am healthy and beautiful!”  It was like a scratched recorded in my head.  Not a bad scratch either like when I obsess.  Not this was a good like a great song in repeat.  

Climbing on Greenville was a challenge but nothing too bad.  I kept up a decent cadence.  I was above 4 mph on all four climbs which is so much better than a year ago.  I just feel better.  Now I know there are a few people out there who will say new bike, more gears and I say bite me.  I’m better than I was earlier this summer on the same bike.  I’m working hard and it’s paying off.  So stuff it!  

Coming down the third climb I topped out at 33 mph.  Man I love coming down that hill.  It is so awesome.  The ultimate feeling of freedom.  

Greenville 4 was a great climb, I attacked the hill.  I was half way up and still in big ring up front.  I quickly shifted to granny when the I started to get to the top.  I kept cranking though.  I wanted to repeat the over 100 cadence and 8 mph that I had achieved Saturday.   I wanted to show myself I had gotten better.  While I’d did get the cadence up, I couldn’t get to 8 mph but I tried.  I was just a little slower today.  Probably that popcorn I ate yesterday :)

Coming down Greenville 4 I didn’t achieve 39.2 again.  I topped out around 36 mph.  I don’t really recall but I also don’t spend a lot of time looking at my computer because I’m coming downhill and I need to watch the road.  36 or 39 it doesn’t matter what matters is I felt great and I had kicked Greenville’s ass.  

I am so happy I went out today!  It was fantastic!  As I sit out here in the back yard enjoying the sun abs the breeze, I am smiling and feeling amazing!  It was a good ride! Well actually two great rides to talk about!! 

There will be an indoor ride Wednesday and that will be my last ride until July 15.  I’m already counting down the days!