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WELLNESSWEEK
Well. I hope you are... ;)
A little story for you about my weekend doing something I've never done before, nor would have agreed to doing if I'd known, though I'm glad I did!
To begin, a huge thanks to the gents that led the way... brilliant beasts.
A few weeks ago I agreed to a cross-country bike ride.
I thought "I'm fit and healthy, have done some down-hill mountain biking, how tough can it be!?"
Well.... it was tough.
It turns out I'd agreed to a 90 mile bike ride, over two days.
And not just that, it was 90 miles "cross-county" ...up and down hills, some so muddy we'd ride the bikes into mush, pick them up and walk forward with a few extra kg of soil on the tires.
The up-hills felt like forever, and the fun, wild down hills would flash by.
At the top of the highest point there was ice and snow and it was around -1C. We were so excited to be at the top, only to realise the terrain going down the other side wasn't suitable for biking, we had to walk 1400m down step by step, all the way down, carefully guiding the bike. All the pain of getting up there without the gratification of the downhill riding.
I wasn't navigating, and so unless I could see the top, I had no idea how long the tough uphill sections would last, and even then the "top" sometimes carried on, seemingly never-ending. Some were 30+ minutes of incline without knowing when it was going to end...
For the last couple of years, other than intense boxing sessions, I've been more working on weighted pull-ups, dips, deadlifts, sleds, - slower movements, shorter sessions, focusing on being safe and heavy-ish. I've not really ventured into longer endurance sessions. This kind of training was completely foreign to me.
These rides were 8 hours each day!
It was hell.
And somehow heaven too.
The riding pushed my heart, lungs, nervous system, mind and will to their extreme.
What was good? Why would I actually consider doing similar again?
It's not that I think it's "good exercise" for my body.
I loved observing my internal dialogue about what was happening.
I could observe that my legs were not able to pedal anymore, and that I'd have to jump off the bike, literally "shake a leg" and push the bike up a segment of the hill before I could pedal again.
When I hit those points of physical "failure" I could observe my personality commenting on the "situation" without getting involved or taking those thoughts too seriously.
No need to get involved when the mind is narrating like that, allow it to play out, and get back on with the journey when it inevitably passes ;)
It's February, month 2 of 12. What are you choosing to do - resting and nourishing before Spring kicks in? Changing some habits? Leaning into the things you're already doing?
Whatever you're up, have an awesome week!
Rich :)
PS. The best mushroom for endurance, strength and stamina is Cordyceps.
PPS. While I remember to share, if you're still using normal high-street laundry detergent, you might want to consider a non-toxic version. When you change, you'll begin to notice how "chemical" the most common detergents are - I especially notice them on bedding at air bnbs and take a pillow case with me. Remember you're breathing that in and it's on your skin all day and night. Just a thought to share :)