Make it Hurt !!

So Today i raced my first race of the 2011 season after a 5 mth off season break of no racing... yeah, probably wont do that again. meaning, take such a long time off from racing. Looking ahead ( no looking back :) ) i will definitely take a small break but then jump in to some running or bike racing over the winter mths.

So yeah , it was a bit of a shock to the system ( total understatement ) , but a much needed one, which in turn made me so excited for the races ahead. I was just reminded of how much they hurt, which for some reason i forgot that would be the case. But it's a good hurt...

For me, hurting that much means that i am giving it my all. Which is really my only goal i have on race day, Irrespective of where i place, how slow or fast i am, i gage myself on that one thing. Did i make it hurt ???? And once that is answered i then assess where i can improve.

Looking at this particular race, and what my times have been in training the last few weeks, i definitely would have expected or at least hoped for faster times accross the board when considering the amount of pain that was felt in relation to the times achieved. Ideally we all want to be able to get faster so that it doesnt hurt as much, but that is never the case. The only chance of it not hurting as much is if i dont want to improve my times,and i could just get fitter to make my current times easier. But whats the point of that.. I am always going to be pushing the next boundary once i reach my current time goals, put myself back in the pain cave, and see what else this mind and body is made of.

This is why i love this sport, There is always going to be room for improvement of mind, body, attitude, the list could go on and on, but the process of growth is an amazing journey that i look foward to every day.