\”Discipline\” is not my favorite word. It sounds too much like punishment; and who enjoys that?

We need a certain amount of it, though, to make progress as cyclists. My abode is a mess, because I hate cleaning; and some people would claim that this means I have no self-discipline. But I have enough discipline to get up early to go riding before work. I devised a training plan, aiming for a possible century ride; and yes, some mornings I really have to prod myself to do what I planned to do.

Of course sometimes I need to say, to heck with it. It isn\’t a lack when a cyclist changes training plans; as a rule, it\’s common sense. Things can get in the way of training: a cold; a pulled muscle; or possibly even the dreaded COVID-19. A training plan should be flexible, to allow for the unexpected.

As for training, I\’m never sure I\’m doing it right, anyhow. But I\’m not aiming to race; and improving my cruising speed seems quite a modest goal. I finally seem to be making a bit of progress towards that goal; for years I was always concerned that I\’d go too hard and wear myself out too much! After all, when I get home from a weekday morning ride, I have to go to work; and I don\’t need to arrive at work exhausted.

Keeping the blogging going is another reason I don\’t have the \”self-discipline\” to be tidier. Blogging is a job in itself; and I also have to get my meal planning/cooking/diet back on track. I think I\’ve been suffering from culinary burnout; and the results aren\’t so great.

Today\’s Ride

Today I made my ride shorter than the 60 miles I had planned. It wasn\’t as hot as last Sunday; but all the same, the heat was getting to me. Most of the time the sun was blazing down; and an hour after I got home, I saw that the heat index was 102! I also saw a big cloud building up towards the North. There\’s a 40% chance of T-storms; and I don\’t want to get caught in a storm.

They say it takes discipline to ride so that you stay in a moderate heart rate, that is, \”tempo\”. It sure looks that way. Today I was in my \”brisk\” zone for over half of the ride. For the last five miles, I tried to control my legs\’ natural tendency to move fast, because I kept feeling breathless. It wasn\’t the easiest thing to do; and besides, I wanted to get home before re-apply sunblock time came!

Then there\’s the discipline to keep hydrating and fueling. Boy, does that get hard! My stomach felt bloated from so much fluid; yet I had to keep the liquids coming in because my mouth kept drying out. It\’s important to keep fueling so as to avoid the bonk; another difficulty when all that fluid has you feeling stuffed.

At least today I had a bit of a tailwind on the way back home. Why can\’t it be that way in cold weather?