Last Saturday morning, I led Jeremy Kersey and Jen Phu on their first ride up Cypress Mountain. I could see they were slightly apprehensive as to whether they could do it. As their coach, I had full confidence that they could and I knew they were ready for the challenge. Sure enough, roughly an hour later, they crested the top and rolled by the power lines, the unofficial top of the hill, with huge smiles on their faces.
It was a warm, sunny morning so there were hundreds of riders making the same ascent that day. As I was waiting at the top, I had the opportunity to watch the stream of cyclists make the one last turn and final push to the finish. I was particularly watching for the moment. I was looking for the moment when their faces switched from a grimace of pure agony to the elated smile of simple, pure satisfaction.
Some of the newer riders cheered for their friends and others actually put their arms up like they had finished a race. But even those who had climbed it scores of times still looked at their watch, noted the time and reflected for a moment on whether it was deemed a good climb. Whatever ritual they had, almost every rider that day took a moment to recognize the fact that they had accomplished something worth celebrating. I thought this was fantastic.
For Jeremy and Jens first ascent, we celebrated with a picture of them at the top and we took some time to absorb the moment. They recounted their personal experiences or their climb, telling me of the pain, the people they passed and the people who passed them. They were elated. I was elated for them.
The whole day reminded me of the importance of enjoying the journey. Endurance sportsespecially long endurance sports such as Ironman, marathons and Granfondostake many months of training for only one day of glory.
Unfortunately, some people dont even make it to the event because of falling ill on the day or suffering an injury. Which makes it even more important that you enjoy each day of training and the progression to getting faster and fitter. Its the small steps that lead to big milestones and each of them should be celebrated.
Every day that you get on your bike and every day that you make a decision to help make you a better, stronger rider is one day that takes you closer to your goal.
Jeremy and Jen have a goal to finish the Valley First 160km Axel Merckx Granfondo. This was just one step for them along the way to their goal and I look forward to celebrating with them again when they cross the finish line July 8.
Kristina Bangma is a coach, personal trainer and writer with a love of riding and racing. Email questions to [email protected].
