After
Thanksgiving the speed of the year just accelerates until it seems the day
after Chismus is January first. Then
when you are back at work and you see the next paid holiday is five months away
time seems to come to a standstill.
When the days
were darkest you had to create your own motivation. I can assure you that the nobility of
suffering does not provide a lasting inclination for serious training. No matter how much you visualize yourself in
black and white the rain is still wet and your feet get cold.
A specific
training objective certainly helps.
Perhaps more than anything else, having experience with following a plan
and seeing the payoff helps when the task at hand is ugly. I have been creating plans since I could
write so drafting the plan has never been an issue. Sticking to the plan amid the dynamic thing
we call “life” is a challenge that is not unique to me.
I reach into my
suitcase of bullshit for any and all tricks to motivate myself. Sometimes that is focusing on the short term,
sometimes it is thinking long term. I promise myself a reward. I think of lean times. I pretend I’m young. I pretend I am
fast. I eventually concede I am old.
You use all the
tricks and do the work and it becomes habit and suddenly it January is coming
to an end.
Then it happens
ever so slowly. You realize that the
days have finally started to get longer.
People start talking about Baseball.
Your base mile rides begin to show results. You master the nuances of dressing for cold
weather once again.
Spring isn't coming for a while yet. But there is hope.
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