Liz Randall's Cycling Blog - a life behind bars

"With ordinary talents and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable"



Saturday 4 October 2008

Power 1 Motivation 0, Inverness road, jet lag

Today I finally completed the >20% grade Inverness Road hill without having to get off the bike. My program for today's training session was "80 mins easy"!......oooh what a naughty person I am......

Suffice it to say that while I have weathered the low that follows such a high as I experienced at St Johann, motivation has yet to make itself known. My current approach to training is: its a grind and I don't really want to be bothered. I'll be REALLY glad when my 2 races at the Worlds in Sydney on 14 and 16/10 are over and done with.

Yup, your right ... I'm burned out. Temporary of course, as someone said to me last week...I can't imagine you giving the bike away for more than a day or 2 but the thought of carefree and scarey rides on the MTB is ever at the front of my brain.

I have been honoured by being nominated for a VicSport award (Masters Division) and will be going to bun fight and presentation in late October. I've no doubt the competition there will be strong and so do not expect to walk away with a win..the Masters class is huge and regularly seems to include athletes of a young masters age who are still able to compete relatively successfully in Elite grades.....

Jet lag this year was just as slow to disappear as other years, so the theory that drinking booze in flight makes a difference is clearly incorrect. WRT jetlag, I've realised that I'm as old as my birth certificate says I am, no matter how much I'd like to deny it. This year I've not been defining my jet lag in terms of whether I was asleep or awake at the correct time. Nope..this year I've been defining it in terms of whether or not my bowels were in or out of synch.....!!!!! next thing you know I'll be snarling at you if you dare to sit in MY chair!

The astute reader will notice that Spoke(n) is no longer listed as a sponsor; the owner has decided not to have sponsored riders any more. Bit a shame really as I did the right thing and have great pix of me wearing the Aus Masters Champion jersey and Spoke(n) nix, while racing and the rainbow jersey and Spoke(n) nix on the podium....

2 comments:

Rich Gift Of Lins said...

You've just got to enjoy the bike, the fresh air and the sights for a bit Liz. I can't imagine what pressure you put yourself under this last few months, but it must have been a lot of mental stress. You get physically fitter by training then resting, the same applies to the mind as well. Don't beat yourself up, very few people can imagine to achieve what you have.

Liz said...

Tnx for your words of wisdom Colin. You're right and with R&R the wheel will turn full cycle(!).

However, when part of what you do is no longer the fun it used to be I guess you discover how you define yourself . What order should these 4 nouns go in: cyclist, wife, mother, Physio?

I've been a Physio for 45 years, a wife for 39, a mother for 36 and a cyclist for 10 years(although a competitive athlete since I was 13).

So while the former 3 are well established, I'm still excited and learning, learning, learning about cycling and so mourn the time when its less than fun.