Getting It Done

 Today I did A Hard Thing.

It will be one of many, many hard things, in training terms, of the next few months and the next couple of years. And let’s be clear - I’m no stranger to Hard Things in training terms. But it’s been a wee while since I’ve really stepped up the suffering. 

Suffering, in training terms, is an odd concept.  It’s not ‘real’ suffering, like poverty or discrimination, ill health or low mood. It’s self-inflicted, chosen for longer-term personal gain.  The very basis of fitness training, Progressive Overload, is based on the concept of short term suffering for long term improvement.  But hey, it doesn’t last - and afterwards (or during!) you can eat cake.  You might not be able to walk very easily (!) but you can bask in the glow of a hard thing completed, whilst lounging around with a sugary treat of your choice, feeling smug, and knowing you’ve pushed your fitness a tiny bit further in the right direction.

I started riding on Zwift around this time in 2021.  It gets really icy up here in the north of Scotland in the winter months, which makes getting out running or biking quite challenging sometimes.  It can feel really unsafe, the daylight hours are very short - 5 1/2 hours at the turn of the year - not to mention having to kit up with loads of layers to deal with the cold.  It’s worth it some days, but it can also feel really limiting. So being able to enjoy riding indoors was a revelation. I also got involved with an extraordinary group of people on Zwift - The Pack- and have made some close friends as a result. One of those friends showed up to save the day today. More of that in a bit.

Today it was time to do a Long Ride. The Celtman Solo Point Five bike route has about 1600(ish) metres of climbing on it, and is 92km long.  It includes the Bealach na Ba, Britain’s only real Alpine-style road climb, and by far the longest in these islands.  It doesn’t end there though: the top section of ‘The Bealach’ (pronounced Bee-yall-lack) is 20% gradient. That’s followed by a series of short, equally steep climbs all the way round the rest of the route, including one *right* at the end, just before Transition 2.  A lot of people underestimate the section of the route after the Bealach, thinking they’ve done the hard part.. <Claxon> Computer Says No. 

There are a bunch of long routes on Zwift, and I chose one today called Quatch Quest.  It includes two big climbs, one of 500-ish metres and another that’s a duplicate of Alpe d’Huez, known as Alpe du Zwift.  

I still had DOMS from my gym session the other day when I got on my bike, so I knew it wouldn’t be a fast day. That’s ok, it’s just about Getting It Done. Endurance. Long, slow distance. Tootle through the first few kilometres, feeling pretty good, start the first climb, and consciously let the ‘Holo-bot’ (a holographic me riding my personal best pace) go. Do Not Chase. Do Not Chase… Ok, first aim complete, the holo-bot is ahead and I didn’t chase.  An hour in, approaching the top of the first climb, the Epic KOM, and I’m planning a little food & coffee stop at the top.  Feeling pretty good so far…

Coffee done, food on board, right, let’s get this done.  But my heart rate monitor isn’t connecting when I come back to it… Eurgh, annoying. Disconnect. Reconnect.  Do Not accidentally exit the ride… And now my mood has changed, I’m feeling less good.  Resign myself to not having a heart rate record (in hindsight, why did that feel so important??!) and get going again.  Bottom of the Alpe, and start the second climb… feeling pretty rubbish now, to be blunt. I’m crap, I’m slow, things aren’t working, I’m too heavy for all this climbing...  And Then… Dun Dun Dun… Paul to the rescue!

Riding with the Pack, I’ve met some very cool people. People who are strong riders- in some cases exceptional riders- but who will happily give of their time and effort to help others.  Paul is one of those- we’ve now ridden a lot together, mainly in the virtual world, but also a couple of times IRL (in real life). He’s an absolute legend, a generous soul who has dragged me round many a ride with a grimace on my face, and a smile afterward. He magically finished work at just the right time today, and rocked up when I needed him most. 

To cut a long story short, we chatted, we rode, I swore at him when it got hard… but we got to the top. I don’t think I’d have finished it if Paul hadn’t turned up when he did. 

Events like Celtman and Celtman Solo Point Five are never solo events. There are always others. Helping with training, taking care of stuff, allowing you the time to train and then being there when you need them. 

Today was hard, it was slow, but I managed the psychological ‘stuff’, and I Got It Done, even when I didn’t think I could. 

And then we went for cake ☺️.