Are you clipped in?

We are an army of and for each other

This last week I was humbled by some of the notes and discussions I had after my last post "How do you handle a rough week?" Of course I received some wonderful messages of support, but also talked with others about what they are going through right now in their lives. Someone else diagnosed with cancer and the emotions that come with it. A finalized divorce with the sense of loss and discouragement. Loss of employment. Heading to Mexico for aggressive treatment of Lyme disease. Death of a wife and daughter in a short span of time.

Humbling. A dose of perspective. No matter how rough my week may seem, there's always someone experiencing something much harder. And yet it doesn't mean our road isn't a rough one. It's ok to feel some of that discouragement. What you do next is all that matters.

Thank you to each that reached out to share, support, commiserate and more. We get through these times and life in general together.

For me this last week was better than the last, but still a bit if an uphill battle while I still try to shake the cold that’s been hanging on much longer than it should. My guess is that while my immune system is lower as a side effect of the treatments, it not only makes catching a cold harder, but also harder to shake. Overall though I’m still doing my daily and weekly routines, working hard and feeling a bit better.

Another check in the win column.

Driving in cars with friends getting philosophical

Several days a week right now I head to the rec center for spin class. It's too blasted cold to cycle outside except the occasional day when Utah shows its seasonal bipolar side and teases us with an early look at Spring. My buddy Ken and I take turns on the carpool, mostly to make sure we actually go. It’s a lot harder to wimp out and sleep in when you know someone is expecting you to be there. Accountability for the win.

After the usual "how you feeling" we usually meander into some other topic for the 10 minutes or so it takes to drive there. Sometimes we rant about whatever is going on in one of our lives or the latest in the world. Other times we get a little philosophical. A good portion of the things I think and write about in these updates get started in these 10 minute banters and carry on through my workouts and the rest of the day. This last week had a few gems that were a catalyst to more thoughts.

Am I Clipped In?

My last few weeks have been tough physically battling a cold along with the treatment side effects, which has tested my determination to keep at my fitness efforts instead of grabbing at the ready made excuse to ease off. Any excuse is a good one to stay in bed. We’ve all done it. Because cycling has become my foundation for my latest fitness efforts, of course that has led me to think about comparing some of the cycling effort to life.

When I first started cycling regularly last fall I was on a borrowed bike (from Ken) just seeing if it would "stick" as something I'd keep doing. I’ve had hobbies and especially health efforts that have only lasted a short while until the next thing caught my attention. Ken was gracious to keep the pace down and let me draft off his back tire while I got up to speed. I quickly improved and looked forward to our twice a week outings, getting better each time. As I realized that I was really enjoying cycling, I started to get some of the cycling gear that makes the experience more enjoyable. Bike gloves, jersey and those stretchy padded shorts.

“Chancho. Sometimes when you are a man you wear wear stretchy pants in your room. It's fun.”

In this case not in my room but on a bike. Nacho Libre reference there for the uninitiated. I’ll spare you from a photo of my stretchy pants.

One piece of gear I put off though was cycling shoes, clips and pedals. Mainly because they are expensive and I really wanted to be sure I was fully committed before making that investment. I was getting along just fine with the bare pedals, and I considered just getting those cages like the spin bikes offer for regular shoes.

Riding on bare pedals is just fine, but it limits what muscles you can use to generate power. You can push but not pull. So for all this time I was using only part of my legs to pedal and therefore limiting my potential. Finally for my birthday I pooled some gift money and got the shoes, clips and new pedals and started using them at spin class.

What a difference. It has taken awhile to adapt to being clipped in, attached to the bike and fully using my whole available set of muscles to power the bike.As Heidi frequently reminds us each class, if your not engaging those hamstrings you are leaving all the work to the quads, and they will burn out faster. Push and pull. Fully committed and finding the most benefit from the effort. Proper form with the feet at the right angle. Keep those feet level, and being clipped in makes it all possible. Fully engaged and attached to those pedals makes it all possible.

Are we fully clipped in whatever effort we are making, in the battles we are fighting are we fully engaged? Are we utilizing every thing we have in the most efficient manner by being fully committed to our end goal? The honest answer is likely not. Usually we give whatever effort is minimally needed, and not much more. Guilty here. We all know the difference, and we can feel the difference when we are engaging everything we have to reach whatever that goal may be. We function more efficiently, we use all our resources and therefore can push even longer.

I’m sure there are plenty of other ways this metaphor can be applied, but you get the gist of what I was thinking. For me it was a good moment to reflect on what effort I’m making in not only my fight against this cancer, but in all aspects of my life. Sure cancer has taken a front and center position in my life, but there are plenty of other aspects of life that are just as important that require attention. All the roles we live need that attention to continue to maintain a healthy balance and progression. Husband, father, friend, employee, etc. To come anywhere close to maintaining a balance across all of these roles, we have to be fully engaged. We have to be clipped in and utilizing every muscle in order to maintain the pace and effort we desire.

So while the metaphor may seem a bit of a stretch, and if maybe cycling doesn’t get you going, hopefully the concept of being fully engaged and committed in life does. We make time for what matters to us. We need to choose to prioritize what is important and give it our full effort. Right now my mantra continues to be that I choose to live, and I choose to do it in the fullest ways possible with those I love and doing those things I love.

So that’s my thoughts from this week. Hopefully you find some inspiration of your own from it. Love to hear your thoughts on this or anything. I’m always here for a chat to celebrate a win, commiserate about a struggle, or just to check in and enjoy life.