Hate it or Love it

"Nothing great can be achieved without Enthusiasm"

It's been a very very very long year on and off the bike. And it's understandable, almost expected that right now, I hate my bike. I knew this fact long before writing this blog. But I've been trying to avoid this truth, so I can stay focused for track natz next week. Honestly, what's the point of hanging on to some fitness, if I don't like the bike? What do you do?

If you don't like your bike now, do what most cyclist would do - get a new one! I did and it's a sleek carbon Planet X speed machine. They gave me a nice sponsorship deal and I'm ready to love my bike again. Will take some pictures and will post shortly! It's amazing what a new toy can do to your state of my mind.

But what's really helping me get over the burnout factor is simply riding around Golden Gate park trails with my 4 year old son, Payton.

3 weeks ago, I took off the training wheels and pushed him off and just like that he was riding his bike. And the fear of the unknown/crashing, turned into a smile for the ages. It was ear to ear and pure joy. And as I watched him gleefully spin round and round (you should see his leg speed), I was reminded why I love this sport so much. In the end we love our bikes simply b/c it is so much fun. It's not about the wins as much as each pedal stroke brings a smile to your face. It's sometimes easy to forget this with a razor like focus on peak performance. But when I'm riding around with Payton, I'm reminded that it's all about play and fun, even when my heart rate is thumping at 190bpms.
Sent via BlackBerry

Changing gears - thinking differently

"When the little guy doesn't know he's the little guy, he can do great things."

I was riding up Mt. Tam yesterday, when another cyclist blew past me. I shifted up some gears, accelerated up to his rear wheel and kept pace with him for the next 10 minutes. Then, it started to hurt. When I looked down at my HR monitor and powermeter, the numbers were NOT good 175+ bpm/380+ watts. Then I started thinking, I can't hold this pace for the next 20+ minutes uphill. But right before I was about to pop, I remembered what my Belarusian coach, Vlad, said to me in his heavily accented voice, "Steve, you think all WRONG, what happened?" You say you can NOT when you must say I can."

He's right, something happened to me after getting my ass kicked in during the world cups. I began focusing on my limitations, rather than my strengths. It's like I put on bright neon lights on these limitations and it flashed in the forefront of my mind. And when the racing/riding got hard, I've been backing off b/c I was too aware of my limitations and honestly, I was afraid.

During my first world cup at Sydney, I recall meeting up with all the big guns and was so excited for the first race. I couldn't wait to announce my arrival at this top level. I had no history, no past to base this high expectations. I only had my imagination, and I guess I was a bit creative. When the racing actually started, I didn't perform as well as I imagined I would. The point is that, after I was brought back down to reality, I seemed to dwell on it too much. As Osho said "We die to the past everyday. But it's the past, let it be." Beat it and bounce, right. But somehow, the past sticks to me longer, and as said above, I hold on to it closely.

So, back to the ride up Tam. Right when i was about to pop, I shifted up some gears, accelerated and rode in front, and picked up the pace. I was dying but I wanted to see if the other rider will blowup first. When I looked back, he was way behind me. He blew up. I looked at my HR - 185bpm/400watts. Technically, I should have blown up too, but this time I refused to have the performances of the past dictate how I'm going to perform at the moment and going forward. I rode up Tam with a new pb time - 3 mins. faster than I have ever done.

So much of training is physically focused. But, the body can handle just about anything, it's the mind that really needs the training. As athletes we just need to be more conscious of how we register the memories of successes, failures, and challenges. Specifically, the successes need to burn brighter than all. These memories makes us better, and no doubt, much happier.

4th of July Weekend Hi's and Low's

Let's start with the Low's:
It's a Porta Potty Nightmare. I took a piss in the porta potty and washed my hands using the foot pump to dispense the water. To my horror, the water that came out of the dispenser, was NOT water. It was the piss and shit water from the packed high porta potty. I freakin screamed like I got shot. A cop comes over and checks on me and I just unloaded on him. Smell this? And I lifted my hands up to him and he just about threw up. Then he rushed me to the ferry restroom, where I washed my hands under scalding hot water for an hour, and it was not enough. When I told Jenna, she screamed "Aaaahhhhh, and jumped out of her seat. The same way you all did when you saw the movie, The Crying Game. Nasty!

I also crashed at Davis on the 4th, banged up my knee, but finished the race.

Hi's:
AJ won the Elite District Criterium Championships in style. He pinned his head to the stem and rode solo away from the stacked breakaway. It's the biggest prize for our team and the sickest win of the year. It was a brutal race, 100+ starters and only 20+ of us finished. It was a mental suffer fest with the challenging course and the scorching heat. I had a lot of converations with myself in order to keep digging myself out the pain. In the end, my mind won over my body this time. It was a personal success.

And the swelling on my knee stopped thanks to resting a 6pack of ice cold Amstel Light on the bruise. And chugging the 6 pack, killed the pain.

It was a great weekend all in all. And hopefully, I'll get my leg speed back soon.
Sent via BlackBerry

American Velodrome Challenge - Keirin Finals Video

Don't you just love surprises? Making the finals and placing 3rd was a big surprise - an enjoyable one at that. I think I may do more of this Keirin stuff.

My Other Church - Hellyer

I go to my church St. James on Sunday's. But not often enough as I should. I enjoy going to church for many reasons. First, it's the peace and comfort that I get from sitting at Church and listening to the sermon. Then, it's the community of like minded spiritual people. And connecting with them during coffee hour. And also the free childcare service is a nice touch. We drop off our kids and get a chance to be alone, relax and reflect on many things.

Hellyer is similar in many ways. First of, I don't go as frequently as I'd like to. It's just a long drive from SF especially if there is no one to share the ride down in the carpool lane. But when I do get to the track, I'm usually glad I did. I get to hang with my peeps, chill between each hard effort, and find that pain zone during the ride. Every church has a preacher and at Hellyer, it has to be Ruggy. There's no one better than Ruggy at giving advise. It's the way he does it and the way he delivers it. It's a standup comedy act and lecture all packed into one. I enjoy listening to Ruggy for many reasons....he's usually right, and his one liners crack me up "Spin to win....Fly like an eagle...Bet that gear is talking back to you now." And there's always a proud story bout his wonder kid, Daniel "Dholla." Interestingly, everyone at the track, for the most part, are all glad to help each other out. It's a great community, where riders compete and connect altogether. It's unlike any other bike event. It's a great feeling going to the track, and that's why I consider it my other Church. But, it still is a house of pain, full of moments that test my resolve. This is great b/c I think racing is really a mental exercise to have steady command of my thoughts. Sometimes I win and sometimes I just hang in. But most of the time, I have a blast. We should all be so lucky to have a track community like Hellyer. AMEN!

Sent via BlackBerry

Beers and Dim Sum and Willpower

While walking home from preschool, Payton asked if we could stop to get some dim sum. Reluctantly, I said no. He says "how come?" I say "cause daddy needs to slim down and get back in shape again." I thought of just stopping and picking up a few orders of shrimp dumpling, pork shu mai, sesame balls, steamed bbq. pork bun. (just writing this entry makes me hungry). But I realize that if I did buy it for Payton then it would be hard to pass it up. Actually, I know I wouldn't be able to say no. So it's best to avoid it altogether.

According to a NY times article, "the brain has a limited capacity for self-regulation, so exerting willpower in one area often leads to backsliding in others." In other words, I shouldn't use up my limited will power by resisting food and drink temptations like dim sum, and Belgian ales while I get my self back into shape. Because, right now, I need all my will power just to get up at 6AM to ride some intervals in the cold foggy San Francisco morning. But, the nice thing is that when my wife, (not me), brings home a bag of Trade Joes chocolate covered pretzels, I just don't fight the urge anymore. I simply devour the whole bag knowing that tom. I at least will have the willpower to get up early and ride again.

This article brings up an interesting point on the impact of a stressful day at work and how it sometimes can lead to our inability to suffer altogether. This neurological reasoning, explains why good coaches make sure that you are mentally fresh before a key competition because you will need the willpower to suffer. A year ago I was asking Larry Nolan what he recommends as a good tapering schedule. He responded in terms of asking about my mental state. After reading this article, his response makes absolute sense.

SF Entrepreneur Challenge

The SF Entrepreneur Challenge is a contests in another aspect of my life that I want to win. Getting voted to the finals will be my success metric. In order to win, I will need your support by voting me into the finals where I will get to present my business to the SF entrepreneur community and a great panel of judges who might be able to open some new opportunities.

Checkout my profile and help vote for me - http://community.sfentrepreneur.com/member/steve_pelaez

Thank you for your help!