Push it

Even if I hadn't worked seven straight days this week, it has just been a difficult week. My work hours have been extra long, and it has been cold and dark by the time I've left the office most every night, and I just did not have the chance to get out on the bike after my dinner break on Sunday evening. Things are tense right now because it's election week and people are uptight (although I LOVE Election Night in the office and CANNOT FREAKIN' WAIT for Tuesday).

I was all psyched up to get out to my unfinished subdivision today for a bike ride, but I worried I had wrecked all the momentum I built up over the past couple weeks by not being able to ride for the past five days.

Just a few days can make such a difference, especially when you feel like everything is conspiring against your best intentions and goals.

I was tired. I haven't slept well this week, I hadn't eaten anything today except a brown-rice California roll and a cup of Starbucks, and the first seven minutes were hard. Really hard. My legs were tired, my back hurt a little and that bike seat just did not feel right.

I promised myself I was going to bike as far as I had the last time out without resting, and even though I didn't feel totally confident, I felt hopeful.

I fired up the iPod and put my head down and just kept pedaling, even when my legs wanted to stop. Sometimes I moved slower than I wanted, but I kept going forward, and kept telling myself I didn't have to hurry, but I had to get past that two-mile mark before I could stop for 30 seconds.

After about a half mile, I started to feel better. It was more fun. Still hard, but I looked around and realized today was a gorgeous day and I had the sun on my face and it felt good. Suddenly, my back didn't hurt anymore and my legs were warmed up, and even though I'd already passed the marker I'd set for myself, I could keep going. So I did. I rode almost the whole thing without resting and went back and rode half the subdivision again, then rode a couple times around the lake in the middle.

Sometimes, after you get past that one hurdle, you put in that one last push, no matter how hard it seems, things get so much easier. Some hurdles are, of course, bigger than others.

By the time I got done, 30 minutes after I started -- 15 minutes more than I thought I could do today -- I realized I can keep this up.

Yes I can.