Several months ago my boyfriend came home and asked if I wanted to participate in a fundraising bike ride for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.... "It's a 200km ride over 2 days" he said.
I said yes.
And so my life changed... not a lot at first, we had to get bikes and then we had to remember how to ride them.... it turns out the saying "it's like riding a bike" isn't exactly accurate, unless it means "barely recalling how it all works and being surprising nervous...."
But eventually we got going... the bike I had borrowed was in pretty rough shape and we soon realised it wasn't going to work for this amount of riding. So off to the bicycle store we went and several hundred dollars later (thank you tax return) I had a brand new bike!
We have become "those people" as we refer to them, those that get up early on the weekends to go... "do stuff..." in our case, go for a ride. Once or twice on the weekend we would set out and explore the city.
You might have heard about this thing that happened in Calgary a couple of years ago, it flooded. Like all of downtown under water flooded, and as a result the pathways around the city were destroyed or severely damaged. Two years later almost everything has been repaired and the pathways around this city are AMAZING! Riding along the river downtown has become one of my favourite things to do.
So this ride... August 8th & 9th, 200km over 2 days. Our longest ride to date is only 67km and I am not sure how I am going to get through this. Mostly being stubborn and refusing to give up is plan A.
My legs aren't strong enough, everyong seems to be able to go faster than me, and I have no idea how I am going to convince myself to get on the bike for day two.
Also we are doing this on a Low Carb High Fat diet ... my body is totally and only reliant on fat for fuel. It is working well, but so opposite to how people believe you can work out, it makes it a challenge, there will be little or no food at the rest stops and lunches.
I have had to commit to my diet 100% in order to be ready for this race. Putting myself in a position of "all or nothing" has forced me to resist any temptations.. not because I wanted to, but becaus I HAD to.
And so the weight comes off...
1. Commiting to something BIG is scary, but pushes you to somewhere you might not have thought you could go.
2. Creating an all or nothing reason to stick to your eating plan makes saying "no" so much easier.
3. New hobbies are good... trying new things is fun. Becoming "those people" has been surprisingly easy :)
4. Do not underestimate stubborness... it will get you through.
For those of you that might be able to donate, or are interested, the link to my fundraising page is here. Any donation is hugely appreciated.
http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Alberta2015?px=3858262&pg=personal&fr_id=1531