For those of you that don't know, I am a pretty avid road cyclist. I try to get a few short rides in a week after work and a longer one on the weekend when I am not so crammed for time/fried from being at work since 5am. These longer rides can sometimes last between 2-3 hours. As a result, I find myself with a lot of time to let my mind wander. Usually, that time is spent wondering what actually happened at the end of Black Swan, imagining what the truckers that speed past me are saying (I imagine a combination of expletives and some form of, “get a car you damn hippie” in between bites of their deep fried potato chip burger), or pretending that Niki Gudex is about to pass me.
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| On second thought, might not be the worst thing in the world. |
Recently, though, while out on a ride in the middle of a scene of 'The Walking Dead' (filmed in Georgia, in case you didn't know), I came across a series of rolling hills and they got me thinking. Assuming you begin and end in the same place on your ride, any change in elevation you encounter will have to be returned to zero by the end of the ride. That is, any ascent will eventually be met with an equal descent. It may not be all at once, but eventually every foot you climb will be matched by a foot of rest. As I pondered this, I realized what a great metaphor that concept is for training, and life, in general.
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| Where I do my best thinking, apparently. |
Let's look at it from either side of the hill:
Ascent to Descent
You're riding along and you see a massive, winding hill ahead of you. Maybe it's so big you can't even see the top. You’re at the bottom and all you can see is the big climb ahead of you. Regardless, there is no way to know what lies beyond that hill until you decide to start ascending. (In case you aren't following, the hill is a metaphor here.) The only way to get to where you want to be, to achieve your goal, whether it's to be in better shape, to get that promotion, or simply just to get home because your ass is sore and you're craving a nice big glass of chocolate milk, is by overcoming that hill. And yes, that last one was literal.
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| Chris Bosh drinks chocolate milk. Do it anyway. |
There will be several times on that hill where you will want to pull off to the side and stop. In fact, when your legs are burning and you can't catch your breath and you feel like you may die that is going to seem like a very viable and logical option. The important thing to remember is that your goal, which let's say in this case is simply getting home, is not going to be accomplished while you're sitting on the side of the road. No matter how long you sit there the hill you have to overcome isn't going anywhere. The only way to reach your goal is to finish the climb.
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| "FUUUUUUUUU-" -Internal monologue |
Finally, you've made it. You're at the top of the hill and you have a nice descent that you can ride down. You worked hard. Feel the breeze in your face and enjoy the rewards of your effort. You've earned it. Unfortunately, as all good things tend to do, this time must end. Which brings us to...
Descent to Ascent
Enjoying the fruits of your labor is all well and good, and we all need it at times, whether it be a "cheat" day, a vacation, or an unloading phase in the gym, but the amount of time you spend off from work is going to come back to bite you disproportionately. Seems unfair, right? Well, I have some news for you.
This concept is the same dilemma we all had as kids sledding down hills in the wintertime. The enjoyment gained from the ride down the snowy hill was equal to how big the hill was. On the flip side, the bigger the hill the longer the climb back up to the top to do it again. Same principle applies here. The loftier the goal or the more enjoyment/success you want to get out of it, the more work you’re going to have to put into realizing those goals.
In this case, you could simply coast down the hill. As I mentioned before, though, any drop in altitude is going to be paid back in kind before you are done. So, instead of sitting back and relaxing you could put some work into it and hit the oncoming climb with some momentum, potentially reaching a height you wouldn't have been able to had you began from a dead stop. In relation to the hypothetical goals listed above, this could mean skipping the ice cream sundae bar, reading a book on leadership, or finding some way to cross train even though you're technically "on vacation". Breaks from training are nice and even necessary on occasion, but always keep in mind that at some point you will have to start climbing again if you want to achieve your true potential and, really, shouldn't that always be the overall goal?
So go out there today and take a positive step towards your goal. Don't have one? Then your goal should be to set one. At the end of the day, if you can get into bed with the ability to truthfully say the following then you're probably on the right track.
