Apparently, serious cyclists do a short, low-intensity “recovery ride” the day or two  after a big effort.  Mine was yesterday and I think I need to recover from THAT ride.  Legs are stiff and sore and my mind was screaming at me to stop hurting myself.  The ride was one I’ve done many times before and is a mellow 25 mile “breakfast” ride (i.e., early in the morning).  I think my average speed was a good 5 or 6 mph slower yesterday (and I was actually TRYING to pedal!).

I’ve never trained for a physical event; the only thing I’ve trained to do was to learn the piano and endure years of school to get to a professional level.  (Yes, dear readers, I’m a pianist and teacher!  Perhaps I’ll post pictures or audio clips as proof soon.)  One would think, then, that discipline, mental fortitude, and persistence would be easy for me to practice, but it is not.  I don’t like physical pain, I’m inherently lazy (when it comes to feeling pain from exercise), and I’m not a huge fan of sweat.  Oh, I’m impatient as well.  I want to be good NOW.  Unfortunately, it turns out that I’m easily discouraged by what other experienced endurance athletes (like SAT) already know: to get stronger, you will be weaker.  Exercise and training is about breaking down muscles in order to build them back up stronger.  I know that this endeavour is a long-term deal, but right now, I just want to bake cookies and read a book.