Mental Toughness

All year we have been put through tests of endurance and perseverance. As the weeks would roll by the workouts would get longer and more intense. This weekend had a different focus. Mental toughness was either to be forged or discovered, I wasn't sure which. I guess that all depended on who you were. But the main thing was that we were tested not only with extreme workouts for physical fitness, but testicular fortitude as well.

Saturday was the main set. a 100 mile solo bike ride with no support. So sag, no aid stations, simply your bike and whatever God gave you to survive the day. I had no problem storing enough food, it was hydration that I would need to address while I was on the course. Most of the ride was in the back country without stores or parks with running water. A $20 bill would solve that issue just as long as I could get through the first 67 miles without refueling my 3 bottles which I was able to do. The only real test on this day was when I arrived at the intersection of Foothill Expwy and Homestead Rd with less than a quarter mile from my house, and I had 12 miles to go before I could finish. I sooooooo wanted to make that right turn, but no. I headed out the 6 miles and back to finish with 101 miles in 6:45.

Sunday we went to Redwood Shores for the next two legs of the Mental Toughness tour. A 3000 yard open water swim followed by a 10 mile run. I had never swam willingly in open water without a wetsuit before. The wetsuit and the buoyancy it provides is a security blanket of the mind. It not only keeps you warm in cold water but it also pretty much ensures that you won't drown regardless of what happens to you. However, my event in Louisville might get too warm for wetsuits so it really did behoove me to swim without one and today I did it. Once I got over the initial "I'm out here with my pants down" feeling it was a piece of cake. Another checkmark on the road to H.T.F.U.*

Lastly was the 10 mile run. And in the spirit of mental toughness weekend I shed yet another security blanket of mine..... NIP GUARDS!!!! At about mile 0.50 I realized that I forgot to tape up the nips and it was too late to go back. I had pilot lights from mile 6 on but hey, I'm on the Ironteam, baby. I can't let a couple of chafed nubs get in the way of my training.

*H.T.F.U. is the code of the Ironteam subculture, Harden The F#%k Up.