A lack of motivation . . .

I was just reading an article on Alberto Contador, winner of this year's Giro d'Italia and the 2007 Tour de France. They were talking to many of his teammates and coaches, both past and present, and they all talked about his great self -discipline. In thinking about the article I have decided I don't have great self-discipline. I don't even have good discipline. And recently, I mostly have a case of the F-Its (from most recent Dana Carvey HBO special).

When I was preparing for the Terrible Two ride earlier this year my discipline was pretty good. Each week Tim, my coach, would send me a spreadsheet with what rides I should do, at what pace, what heart rate, etc. I would guess I stayed on track and performed 90% of his workouts at the level and intensity suggested. It absolutely worked. Not only was I ready on the day of the ride, I was in the best cycling shape of my life.

After the Terrible Two came the 5-days of cycling in Colorado. During the month in between, I wasn't nearly as motivated to go on training rides. I mostly rode with friends on the weekend and relied on my strong base for endurance. Now that Colorado has come and gone I've got nothing. I am down to riding 1 or 2 days a week (at best).

Let me share how easy it has become to skip the ride. Sherry and I are remodeling our kitchen. Okay, a contractor is doing the remodel and we're just watching. Sherry also managed to recently break a bone in her foot. So I have spent the last 10 days hauling every thing out of our kitchen and laundry room and moving it to the garage (we are gutting the room so everything had to go). I need to talk to Chris about a Fitness Journal category for that so I can log it as exercise. Yesterday the real work started and this is how my day went.

My plan is to leave on the bike by 6:30 for a 2-3 hour ride. We have an appointment with the counter top people at 10:30 so I need to be back for that. After getting up, I decide I should really hang around for the contractor. This is the first day and there may be lots of questions. That was a smart move. So no ride for now. I re-negotiate to ride in the afternoon.

Sherry and I run errands, eat breakfast and lunch, and generally avoid the noisy destruction going on in the house. One of the errands was going to NorCal Bike Sport and buying gift cards for some friends. At least that's near a bike. Does that count?

Finally, back home and now I can ride. Wait! Sherry's closet will be impacted by the remodel so we need to empty part of it. Since I want her staying off her foot as much as possible, I take care of it. Job done, now I can ride.

Just then my good friend and neighbor, Bob, shows up to see the progress. Our contractor is a very good friend of Bob's. Next thing I know Bob, Sherry and I are drinking wine in the back yard and talking about the remodel. I give up on the idea of any ride and instead I go out and install my new Yakima Swing Daddy bike rack onto the SUV. Once again, at least it is somewhat associated with cycling.

So that's all it took. Currently, any little excuse to stay off the bike is fine by me. The cure? Coach Tim. He is putting me back on a strict training schedule starting next week. But with nothing to train for only time will tell if that is enough to overcome the dreaded F-Its.

Ciao!