Burnout.
It’s the word all cyclists fear, and it gets bounced around
a lot. I’ve seen friends hang up their bike completely after having too many
bad races, or just plain too many races.
2013 for me included 36 road races during the collegiate and
summer road season. 15 days of track racing during the summer and collegiate
seasons. 9 mountain bike races. 5 cyclocross races (finishing 3rd in
our collegiate conference!) with nationals in Boulder on the way. Appearances
at four different national events in 2013. Burnout? Maybe.
I do not want to come off like I am whining, but sometimes I
feel like Charlie Brown attempting to kick the football over and over again
while getting the same result: Lucy pulls it away. I really have enjoyed every
minute of it, but as the year winds down I find it harder and harder to look at
my bike, let alone ride. A series of odd injuries, wrecks and lots of travel
combined with moving to St. Louis has added to this feeling.
So, let's talk about something else. Let's talk about what I am doing instead of getting burnt out. I am
focusing on what I love and making goals for the coming year to give me
something to work for. With track, cyclocross and mountain I have had a hard
time setting goals, if only because I am so new to them (this was my first year in all three disciplines, and only my third season on the road). With this in mind my goal has
mostly been to survive. This has resulted in some personal victories in all
three disciplines, but has also created some very tiring conditions over the
last few months while traveling with Lindenwood.
As we come up to New Years I have been thinking long and hard
about my goals and resolutions for the coming year. I want to continue racing, to
reach the next level, whatever it may be for me personally, but I also need to
focus on what I really enjoy and start fixing things in my life that are NOT
cycling related (shocking, right?).
And so I came up with 100 before 25. It is the 100 things
that I want to do before I turn 25. I turn 25 on May 15, 2016 so this gives me roughly 870 days, or 28 months to finish these. Some of them are cycling related and some
of them are New Year’s resolutions, most are not. Some are far fetched and some will be more easily accomplished. All are part of a plan to get
back to more stable ground for me personally, athletically, and professionally. See the full list here.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Emily,
ReplyDeleteSince the day I started riding a bike for competitive reasons, I have always said to myself, "the day that it isn't fun anymore, I will stop." You and I both know that racing, training, preparing, and turning down normal pleasures in life takes it's tole. Usually, the sacrifice is worth the gain, but when it isn't aren't, it's easy to hang it up. This applies to anyone, in any discipline of sport. I've wrestled with this dilemma so many times since graduating, but no matter what, I always come back to fact that I just love the sensation of riding my bike. When it isn't fun anymore, stop. If you can still enjoy pedaling, keep going; you'll find yourself along the way.
-Scott