Last week, we spoke a bit about “seasonal riders.” (see Thursday Thoughts ~~ Crash Season) The pattern described there is an all too common one. Sadly, it tends to lead folks to a point where they leave the sport. The jokes abound. There’s the “Old Guys Who Get Fat in Winter Racing Team.” There are references to “MAMILs.” (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) But truly, it’s not funny.
The consequence of being a “Seasonal Rider” is that there is another nasty pattern. It’s called “The Aging Process.”
When we are kids, in our teens and twenties, we can come back from almost anything, and do it quickly. To a lesser extent, this ability persists into the thirties. But Old Mom Nature plays a dirty trick on us, and throws a switch, somewhere around age 35. Suddenly, recovering lost fitness is harder, and it hurts more. Suddenly weight goes on a lot easier, and comes off a lot harder. It takes longer, and requires more suffering to “get back into shape,” each Spring. Allowing oneself to “go slack” during the colder months has greater penalties with each passing year.
Now some folks have figured this thing out. They play other sports, do more gym work, go mountain biking, go skiing, swim indoors, or such during the cold and dark times. If you are among those happy individuals, then you can skip the rest of this post. Have a good and happy life.
Still with me? Here’s one guaranteed way to break that Winter loss of fitness cycle.
Ready?
The secret is simple.
It consists of doing two things.
1) ENTER SOMETHING!!
2) WRITE A CHECK!!
Really. Pick an event. Preferably it should be some challenging event, and it must happen early in the year. Commit to entering it. Write the check.
Once the check is written, the event becomes real. Now you have a “Damocles Sword” (look it up) hanging over you. You must train throughout the Winter. If you don’t, you’re gonna regret it, and the money you spent will be a waste. You will not let that happen.
Write a check, show up for spin class. Ride long on cold saturdays.
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