It has been an interesting year so far, as in the Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times!" Kids finished up the end of the 2019-20 school year at home. The summer was fun with lots of small trips and mini adventures spending time outdoors and with family. The 2020-21 school year began with the kids going back to school everyday, albeit with masks and a slightly shorter school day.
There have been a few things on my mind lately one of which being the challenges we all face. I trained for and then participated in a 100+ mile bike ride, aka a century ride, on July 11th. Physically, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done in a single day. I was able to keep up with a very fast group for the first 25 miles or so and then ended up falling behind going up a canyon. At the next aid station I was able to get in a small group which makes things much easier, a lot less lonely, and much more enjoyable. We stayed together and added people to our group until they lost me going up another set of hills. The last 15-20 miles was very difficult and lonely. Luckily, most of my preparation was on solo rides so I was used to it if not the physical exhaustion that began to set in.
A few weeks later I noticed my motivation for physical activity waning and prayed for some help. It wasn't long after that when a friend contacted me out of the blue asking if I was up for doing a relay ride from Salt Lake to Saint George called Salt to Saint which is similar to a Ragnar. Riders take turns on their bike all day and all night from start to finish. I felt good about my training since last year I had completed a similar relay called Saints to Sinners that goes from Salt Lake to Las Vegas.
About 2 weeks before the ride I developed thrombosed hemorrhoids which can be excruciating, and were in this case. For the first time in my life I almost passed out due to pain! I had experienced them once before about 4 or 5 years ago. This time around I had an idea of what to do and went to the doctor the first day I knew what was happening. It raised some concerns about if I would be able to participate in the ride or not. The surgeon said I couldn't do any more damage and that my riding would come down to whether or not I could tolerate the pain. A week, 2 medical procedures, and lots of pain later I was still doubting if I would be able to participate in the ride.
I was fast slipping into a depressed funk! The ride had become something I was really looking forward to and didn't want to miss out. It was supposed to be a way to be normal in all the craziness of COVID-19 and election year rhetoric, a reason to take a day off of work, and a much needed time to destress via social and physical outlets. I prayed and pleaded (and a little chewing out), received a blessing from my dad, and tried to hold onto hope while staying off of my bike to let my body heal.
A couple of days before the ride I got on my bike to see how things felt. I felt okay riding without too much pain thanks to my padded and low friction biking shorts. Despite that I didn't get back on my bike until a few minutes before my first leg Friday afternoon. As I started riding my muscles warmed and loosened up. When it was my turn the adrenaline kicked in and I had to hold myself back a bit so I didn't go out to fast. I was worried about going too slow since my first leg was going up a canyon and based on passed experience with canyons I believed that was my weak spot.
I was talking to someone at work while training for the relay. In our conversation they mentioned passing me in their side-by-side while I was biking up a canyon. They had been impressed by how quickly I was ascending. It's interesting how our view of ourselves can be distorted and how a friend or outsider can offer another and sometimes clearer or more truthful perspective. Here I was coming up short when comparing myself to cyclists who had been training for a decade longer than me. The comparison trap!
While riding up that canyon I kept telling myself I was doing well and that I was good at climbing. I set a fast pace but one I felt as sustainable. It helped that I was familiar with the canyon, having driven it dozens, if not hundreds, of times with Karen. I could tell I was gong fast and felt a tailwind helping me along. Still, I didn't realize how fast I was going until I passed the first rider ahead of me, then the second, and finally a third. That third rider stayed with me and we took turns drafting and pulling the rest of the way to the transition point. Something I had expected to take over an hour took just over 40 minutes.
The other two legs I rode were just as amazing each in its own way. One in the middle of the night was slightly uphill and into the wind. Again, I was able to catch some other riders. Two of them ended up taking turns pulling and drafting which ended up being very nice once the temperature plummeted to the 30's. While I was dressed warmly I wasn't expecting it to drop that much. In the end my hands were quite cold as was the rest of me and I am grateful for those other two riders! With their help we probably shaved a few minutes off of the time we would have gotten. The next day I was able to talk to one of them and thank him for the help.
The last leg was probably the most fun as the majority of it was downhill with a tailwind. Over the course of 19 miles I descended 1500 feet. That may not sound like much but it made for a fun and fast ride where I averaged 25.8 mph and finished in well under an hour.
So why am I writing this? Well, it's more for me than for anyone else. The last week has been very rough and I needed to remember something good that had happened to me. I needed to remember how God answers prayers, takes care of me, and watches out for me especially when things are hard. It's a reminder I need often and maybe by writing this all down it will help me remember, really remember that life is good!
I have plans for tomorrow and tomorrow is today!
Braden
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