in training

I am training for a big ride, my biggest one yet. The key word in that sentence is training (details on the ride to come later.)  I don't use the word training lightly or often. The mere act of stating that I am training for an event seems audacious and not a little bit self-centered - an unnecessary public commitment to a challenging course with an uncertain outcome. The more cautious aspects of my personality would have me just be quiet about it. Don't draw attention to it. If no one knows that I'm training, then only I will know if I fail to train or if my training fails. Plus, why would it matter to anyone else?  Maybe it doesn't, but it's worth a post.

I'm posting about it because I don't think of training as just exercising or working out.  Training is not just preparing for an event. Training is a state of mind. Training is a 24-hour activity. It incorporates eating, sleeping, hard work and rest. Training takes planning and thought, measurement and adjustment. It requires sacrifices of comfort, sacrifices of  time. Training, done right, transforms you, even if only for a while.

A long time has passed since I trained for an event. I tried to remember how long. I'm still not sure. But I have done it before and I am trying to do it again. So I am making this public statement, against my more cautious instincts, to shut the door on a mental easy out. Sort of like entering a virtual training camp, it helps solidify the training mindset and gives me one more reason to see it through.

10 weeks to go.