You Talking to ME?

The line was delivered with astonishingly perfect calm. That lethal combination of sincerity and sarcasm. Almost at once the IMDB of my movie loving mind found Travis Bickle driving a cab (with Kevin Spacey trapped in the back seat).

You talkin to me?

Yes, I am. And no, I am not. The answer reflects the reality of being on the hot seat and leading indoor cycling classes, trying to isolate the myriad details necessary to become a fitter athlete. This tactic used primarily during the motivational segment of every drill. Those in the know will immediately recognize that my definition of that means pretty much all the time. Such facts separate the contenders from the hacks in a New York minute.

There are stories, tales, experiences, rides, runs, races, recoveries sand strategies that we can, and should, use to relay the importance of variety and participation in our training. Some stories are very fresh and forefront in my mind, and much like spinning tales of the days events at the dinner table, I share them in class. You know, Mister Nice Guy passes around the big plate of compliments. Pass the ego please.

Because I find this relevant. It fits. Stories feed our hunger for comparison and social interaction. They all have an attached moral and they all can be used to illustrate a detail, or motivate those in need. Worse case scenario (imho) is that, when used in harmonious conjunction with the score du jour, entertain (or distract) and allow us to go faster or harder while not feeling quite so physiologically useless.

So I tell stories. This morning, as my poor heart struggled to keep pace, I told several stories from the weekend. Of Stephanie's spectacular 3rd place AG effort at the Rhody Run, of our ride home afterwards when I could't get up the final hill, of the need for consistency, of blah, blah and additional last but not least, blah. There are lessons here, examples. Chief among them, as identified, is the need to show up. Followed closely by the need to go with high intensity and then the need to adequately recover. Miss any of those and you're, well, walking. Walking, wounded and wondering what happened and why.

So I address everyone....and no-one. I AM talking to you, as well as everyone in the room. Once we have perfected every single detail that encompasses an impeccable effort, be it in training or racing, you can put it on auto pilot.

I have put in a lot of miles in this town and guess how many have gone there?

So yes I am taking to you. And you and you and you. ESPECIALLY YOU!

And me too. Thanks for asking. You're only as healthy as you feel.