Skip to main content

They say.....

Whenever anyone prefaces a statement with those two words, I always wonder about the validity of what is to follow.

But today as I was watching Le Tour de France,  a statement made during a Take Back the Tour commercial really struck home.
... the mind is stronger than the body, and that's a danger, because sometimes you can push your body too far.

I had never really thought along those terms before, but as I think about the past week, and the last 6 years, 3 months and 28 days, there's no doubt in my mind, there is a lot of truth to that statement.

When I was first diagnosed, I set a goal to ride more miles, and at a higher intensity than I had ever done before. I was going to push my body to the extreme, with the ultimate goal being to exercise my MCL into remission.

While I obviously haven't achieved my ultimate goal, I believe the increased training has helped to keep my MCL from progressing at a faster pace, and it has enabled me to reach a level of fitness I had not achieved prior to my diagnosis. And there in lies the problem.

I don't think of myself as a 60 year old man. In my mind, I'm 30 years old, and there's no reason I shouldn't be able to compete with other 30 year olds.  I know what I am capable of [or at least what I was capable of], and when I can't keep up, my mind just tells my body to push harder.

I know I did that last Friday on Glendora Mountain road, and I paid for it the next day, because sometimes no matter what the mind says to do, the body just won't, or can't comply.

I'm just hoping the last three days, off the bike, has provided enough of a recovery for my body to start listening to my mind again.

Tomorrow will be the moment of truth!

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Claude (France) said…
Hi Marc from France,
I think your method is the good one, because even it doesn't work, you have had good time with your bike for 6 years.
I have had problems with my knees, but i'll try to ride a few but not like you with hard and long difficulties. In 1983 i rode "La marmotte" it is from "Bourg'Oisans" to "L'Alpe d'Huez" with These passes : "Glandon" "La Croix de Fer" "Le télégraphe" and 'Le Galibier" and the last "L'Alpe d'Huez".

I didn't climb L'Alpe d'Huez, but with only 250 miles of training (ridiculous) i found the mental to close the round, all my friends couln't climb the last pass too, and some gave up after the "Croix de Fer". (and without Doping products !)
It was very hard for me, but is was really a pleasure too !
Keep riding Marc !
3:39 PM
Marc said…
Even without L'Alpe d'Huez, what you did was impressive!

Knowing how long and high all of those passes are, I doubt I could do all of them, even in as good a shape as I think I'm in.

Thanks Claude
10:55 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vaccine Mandates, what are they good for?

Not much, that's for sure! Simply showing evidence of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine (whether fake or not), does not mean you are protected from getting Covid-19, nor spreading it, if infected. We are all different, and too many of us, i.e. people who are immunocompromised/ immunosupressed, the elderly, or others for various reasons, do not [cannot] mount an immune response as good as younger and healthier individuals. What is evidence of immunity is a quantitative antibody test showing you have developed antibodies, and to what degree, either from natural immunity or the vaccine.  That is what we should be testing for. That is what is important. But for too long, many, i.e. the FDA, doctors, and other health experts discouraged people (and still are) from getting antibody tests, because there was little knowledge about what level of antibodies are needed to impart immunity to the virus. That of course is true, to some extent, but how can we ever find out [learn] the a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Open letter to all Democrats

Stop the nonsense! Continuing to go after Trump, without any hope of getting a conviction, does nothing more than provide Republicans with an obstructionist dialogue (now that they have come up with the unconstitutional talking point) in addition to giving Trump much needed publicity, when we should be ignoring him. It's the pure definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result! Instead Democrats need to be laser focused on what is important to all Americans, i.e. healthcare, Social Security and Medicare, infrastructure reform, the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, to name just a few. And when you do talk about Trump, simply steer the conversation as to how the Trump administration botched everything, how Trump is responsible for the deaths of 400,000+ Americans, due to his inaction and the down playing of the pandemic, plus the deaths of 2 Capitol policeman during the insurrection Trump provoked and incited on January 6, 2021. ...
Post a Comment
Read more