I Can

From Joshua Becker:

… take heart and simply believe it is possible. Realize you will never get there if you do not resolve in your mind that you can accomplish it. Find hope in the example of others. And then, take one small step forward. Replace “I can”™t” with “I can.”

The Tour of Sufferlandria reminded me about some truly important life lessons.

Attitude being one of them.

There are times when I wake up and the last thing I want to do is go down into my pain cave and ride full out at and above threshold for an hour or two. This type of spinning is brutal. It is challenging. It is suffering. And, more often than not, there is this tiny voice in my head telling me that I can’t make it.

For the Tour of Sufferlandria, I went down 9 days straight. No rest. No recovery.

By far, the hardest ride was on the last stage. With only 30 minutes left, I started to have doubts. The two words that came into my mind?

I can’t.

I can’t do this anymore.

I can’t finish this ride.

I can’t surge and sprint.

Now, obviously I could. And I did.

I changed the dialog in my head from I can’t to I can.

I can.

I can do this interval for another 5 minutes.

I can finish this ride.

I can surge and sprint.

I can become a stronger and better rider.

To accomplish any goal requires commitment. However, what got me through the tour was more than commitment. It was a belief that I could do this tour. That I could suffer at a very high level of intensity.

One stage at a time. One day at a time.

I can.