I’ve had a real problem getting motivated to ride this
year. I mean it’s just not been the fuel
that gets my fire burning at all. It’s
not that I don’t want to ride per se, I think it’s more I don’t feel fired up
to ride as often. Last year I was riding
four or five times a week by this time and having a blast doing it. This year it seems like two rides is about
all I can get excited about. I don’t
think its burn out really but rather more of a ‘been there done that’ sort of
thing. (Although I guess that is sort of
what burn out is) I’ve ridden most of the roads around here multiple times and
there are really only a few trail systems to hit up with the Mountain
Bike. This has really bummed me out
because I don’t feel like I’ve been active enough at all. I gained a bunch of weight this winter due to
stressors somewhat out of my control (I could’ve controlled my reactions to
said stressors but that’s another topic for another blog post) and now I’m sort
of paying the price for it. Bike riding
has been pretty much my sole form of exercise and this two rides a week thing
just won’t cut it.
Enter
spring time. I’ve been really just
jonesing to get out of the house, to do something and while the bikes have
helped they haven’t been the salve to my jones that I wanted them to be. Lately on here I’ve been posting these little
lists. These lists have been items that
have worked for me as I’ve grown into my ‘adult’ life and the other day, while
re-reading my 10 steps to a life fulfilled post, I realized I needed to expand
my horizons. I needed to break through
my safety zone a bit. I sat down and
examined my work out log for the past two years and started looking at the
entries and how I felt as the year progressed.
I read some of the comments I made about what I was eating and my body
weight through the year. I came to a conclusion
or five.
1.)
I love to ride but the ‘sameness’ of it gets me
down after a while.
2.)
Mixing up the style of biking helps some
(mountain vs. road)
3.)
The first quarter of the year is always rough
for me both from an exercise perspective and a bodyweight perspective.
4.)
From my comments I seem to be the happiest when
I really mix things up (ride/run/weights/hiking/camping/backpacking).
5.)
I get most excited when I have something to
shoot for like a race or a trip. Goals
work but not like a race or trip.
So I sat with these conclusions for
a few days and thought about what to do.
The answer probably seems obvious but it the ‘light bulb’ moment didn’t
smack me upside the head for about a week.
My kids are nearing the end of their school year and I realize that I’ve
promised them to go camping. This was
the catalyst to more thoughts and ideas about how to spend our eight weekends
off. I thought of campgrounds, tents,
day-hikes, and park visits. From there I
started thinking about hiking and backpacking and I started seeing pictures of
the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Mt. Whitney. Oddly enough these all led me to remember how
much I like Trail Running. Running in
and of itself isn’t all that exciting and my Clydesdale like body type doesn’t
lend itself well to the act but I love to be out in the ‘bush’ so some of the
awkward ‘retarded elephant’ stomping I seem to like to imitate is acceptable to
me because I’m out There. I may not have
time to hike, or backpack but a good trail run seems to trick my mind into
believing that I did….or at least got close to it. I tried a few runs (I may have even talked
about it here once or twice) and I’ve really enjoyed it.
The great thing about this desire
to return to running is the balance it seems to have brought to my exercise
regime and the desire to eat a bit cleaner.
Yes both running and riding are ‘leg centric’ activities and I will have
to watch that to insure I don’t overwork the legs (especially the knees) but
it’s nice to go out and get a couple of runs in and a couple of rides in
during the week without feeling like I’m overdoing either one. There are new ways to see the same trails/roads,
new trails altogether that I can’t access via the bike, new foods & food
combinations to try, new gear to look at, new people to talk to, new podcasts
to listen to, and a couple other magazines to read. These things excite me and connect me to the
outdoor/athletic culture and I love it.
It’s an awesome thing when you
rediscover an old activity and are able to use it to relight the fires of
motivation to get you up and off the couch or out of the house. Hopefully this will also get my weight a
little more under control as well as re-ignite my desire to ride and be healthy
instead of a couch potato watching the clock tick down to my next work
shift.
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