I don’t usually use words like that in written text, I even used the * to tone it down, but the reality is… the sh*t is getting real!
Aaaaaaaah
This weekend I was reading the entry contract (8 pages), and I receive the badge and route card. It is real already. Less than two weeks and I’m there, doing it. At least I hope, I hope I don’t end up stranded on the first day or something.
I’ve done all the training I could do. Collected all the necessary stuff. All I can do now is try and optimise the pack list and try and see how it’ll all fit together, and familiarize myself with the route.
Preparing for a trip like this is tough on your family. In my experience, at least. I don’t want to be away from them all the time just to train. When we didn’t have kids, I did prepare like that for the Trans Provence. But that was hard and asked a lot of flexibility of my partner. I pick my training moments very carefully, sometimes early in the morning so we’d have time together later in the day. That could be rough on me, but I figured it would be a part of my training. Sometimes I’d feel guilty and shorten my ride.
However, let’s compare, shall we?
The weird thing is, though, if I look at Strava 2014 and compare it to 2022, I think I am actually doing really well with the limited time I have. For the first 4 months of 2022, I was battling either the common cold, Covid or managing kids -or a partner- with either. So my training didn’t fully start until May 2022.
Let’s hope that what Van Vleuten said after winning the Tour de France has merit. She said that training years also matter and contribute to success. I’ll settle for finishing and enjoying the ride.
I spoke to a friend about suffering and being able to enjoy it despite the suffering. And I said that TNR is basically going to be a meditation camp. The real challenge is to accept the suffering and keep going; enjoy the moment because before you know it, you’re in Nice, and it’s all behind you.
If you’re only looking to the end of suffering, you’ll miss the amazing moments, the reasons you wanted to come in the first place.