Monday, September 06, 2010

Mental Preparation

Last Sunday I was tricked into a 3o mile bike ride on the Mt. Vernon Trail. I was finally on my bike after nearly a year away. I was very weary and mentally committed to only doing about half the trail. Somehow my riding partners convinced me that I could do the entire thing. Punking out ceased to be an option. We did most of the trail before bonking on the way back due to extreme calorie deficiency. I had never rode over 10 miles thus I felt extremely accomplished. I felt high that I completed such a feat and assumed that it would result in a lower number of the scale that week.

Two days later I entered the room and got on the scale very confidently. I was up 1.4lbs and I shouted "No!" very loudly. I was on the verge of tears. I didn't understand how this could be. I was so moody and I proceeded to drown myself in a slice of vegan cake. I didn't want to hear any of the madness of "maybe it's muscle" or "keep trying." Really why should I keep trying if I was going to get the exact opposite results of what was intended?

Tomorrow I have to do this all over again but this time I'm using a different measure. I have to just do what I know is right because there aren't any gimmicks to this. If the scale is up I can count plenty of other victories this week. I have to be mentally prepared, whatever the result.

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