Suck It Up

Happy 2010! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season, and that the cookies we all planned to avoid are sitting comfortably on love handles somewhere.

As is tradition I would say, the first days of January result in hindsight and foreshadowing. We reminisce on the days behind us and how quickly they sped by. Stupid things we did and the achievements we made. But now that the first week is almost over, my plans for 2010 or my 'resolutions' are put under deep consideration. Why? Because it is easy to come up with a list of every thing I hope to do, want to do, or should become famous for, but to actually stick to and achieve all of them may be, even for me... a far stretch from reality and bordering on impossibility.
I was informed that the average resolution only lasts 23 days... they don't even last til February!

So, while reviewing my ideas for change in 2010, something quite elementary became clear. The age old saying, "actions speak louder than words" has always made since, but I needed to expand upon that; actions are greater than plans... instead of planing what to do for a resolution and putting it off on getting started or waiting for assistance it is time to do it- "JUST DO IT."

For example... road season will soon be upon us. I love biking, I love bike racing--well certain bike racing. I love mountain biking and I love crits. Road races are not my forte. I want to be good at them, I want to be able to breathe and pedal and keep my eyes open and not tip off my bike when I'm climbing up a hill... but sometimes it is just too much to multitask. So- as is obvious to most bike racers, training...training will help. I hate training. I fall off my rollers, I heat up our apartment, I don't have anything to look at, and training makes me hate living in Boston. But I can whine and I can stay slow... but then my resolution will only ever be a plan.

I guess what I am saying is resolutions and plans won't get you there, wherever it is you want to be. So I am not making a list this year, I am going to do one thing in each part of my life: Suck it Up.

For all of you, do the same. 2010 has the potential to be the best bike year of your life. Do what it takes to make that happen, suck it up. It may mean falling off rollers, breaking a bone, or even, yes...getting better at 'team shot gun.' But trust me, no matter what it takes it will be worth it. The ECCC is going to be a story at some point and believe me... you better have a good one to tell.

Let's go 2010.

Sorry- this was a random rambling--Suck it Up.
Cheers,
Maggie