Near Death Experience

People, I bicycled 56 miles yesterday in the Tour de Cure.  But only after I lay awake for 4 hours Saturday night fretting over having signed up for that distance and worrying about being able to do it.  4 HOURS.  I finally had to take myself firmly in hand and say, "How about reframing this inner monologue a bit?  How about thinking, Gee, tomorrow I get to go on a bike ride!  instead of OMG, I AM GOING TO DIE!?"

So that helped a little.  During the ordeal I kept saying to myself, "Wow, what a nice bicycle ride!  Just a pleasant day for a little ride!"  Well, until the last 3 miles when I was convinced I was breathing my last.  And then, right before the last 100 yards or so, my totally fit friend said, "Okay, I don't care how you are feeling, you are going to sit up tall and SMILE when we cross that finish line.  SMILE! Or you may end up in a really horrible-looking picture on their website."

Say what you like, she has her priorities straight.

This is not me.  I didn't have the strength to do anything like this.

So, as I hobbled around after the ride, picking up my free food (smoothies! BBQ! Chipotle!) and attempting to look rested and refreshed (those damn photographers again), my friend had the nerve to say, "That wasn't too bad.  We should definitely do the full 68 miles next year!" Apparently, exercise-induced endorphins can have a detrimental effect on some people's grasp of reality.


[Bicycle image: Stewie Bicycles]