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What I learned after riding 100 miles this past weekend
Embracing the suck
Howie Chan
May 12, 2024
15 to 20 mile per hour headwinds for 90 minutes straight.
My quads were burning and my calves were starting to cramp, but I kept pedaling. “Just keep the wheels spinning” I thought to myself.
IT SUCKED.
The first 35 miles was cold and wet, it rained for most of that first couple of hours.
This was mile 35 to mile 55, it was the toughest part of my 100 mile ride, where my legs were complaining every minute and the thought of stopping crossed my mind multiple times. It got so bad at one point, I had to pedal downhill because if I didn’t I would roll to a stop due to the wind.
Despite the pain, I would tell myself “no, I will not stop”, because that would be admitting defeat but more importantly, what would my riding buddy think of me?
Sometimes, feeding that ego does work 😅 and doing hard things with friends always push you harder. The first time I rode 100 miles I did it alone, this time, I did it with a friend - way more fun.
After reading Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins years ago (he is an ex-Navy Seal and ultra endurance athlete), I’ve made sure to include doing something sucky everyday and once a year a super sucky event. Last year I ran a half-marathon, this year a 100 mile bike ride.
The idea is that at the end of the day, we want to feel good about ourselves when we are by ourselves. And that only happens if we’ve done something hard - which means something uncomfortable, something sucky, something you don’t want to do. So sure, that 90 minute sucked, but it’s what I signed up for and what I expected.
What’s also great about doing hard things is that you’ll always learn something from it.
You might ask, how do you stay motivated? The trick for me is I just register for an event and my fear of embarrassment keeps me on task. 😝
BASE PRINCIPLE
Do hard things to feel good about yourself.
WHAT IF?
What if you ran towards the suck instead of running away from it? What if you felt good about yourself when you’re by yourself? What if you had something that no one could take away from you?
Here are 5 things I learned from my 100 mile ride that can apply to all aspects of life:
1/ What you do today shapes what you experience tomorrow
I failed to drink enough electrolytes and have enough sodium for the first 35 miles which made my legs cramp up the next 20 miles. I made up for it by popping Cliff Bloks into my mouth constantly from mile 35 to 80, still feeling cramps for most of that time but for the last 20 miles, my legs felt fresh.
Do the work, lay the foundation NOW for what you want to experience in the future. Want shade in 10 years? Plant seeds today.
2/ Suffering alone is mental, suffering together is an adventure
My buddy Daley and I rode together and we had so much fun. We would laugh about the terrible weather, complain about the headwind, it was just such a different experience when I did it alone a few years ago.
It’s always better with a friend. You push each other to do better and that experience of suffering brings you closer too!
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
3/ You can always do more
As my legs were cramping up and pedaling really slowly against the wind, I thought to myself, damn it, I should have trained for really long sustained hard efforts. Oh well, I made it through, but next time? Higher zones of power for looooong periods of time.
There is no such thing as perfection, but it also means we can do more, try harder every single time, every single day.
“If you get one percent better each day for one year, you'll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you're done.”
4/ If you don’t plan for a goal, you won’t reach it
“It’s not going to take 8 hours” I told my wife. She was trying to plan her day with the kids while I was out biking. Guess what, it took about 8 hours with traffic stops and rest breaks. The truth is we just rode, we didn’t have a plan for riding under 6 hours so it didn’t happen!
Expecting an outcome without a plan is foolish. If you want to hit a goal, plan for it.
5/ The little things add up
A few weeks ago I went out for a bike ride, about 20 miles, just to make sure I have time outside before the big ride. I was underprepared. Not for the distance, but for the temperature. I was 35 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s like 2 degrees Celcius. COLD. I was wearing fingerless bike gloves and a normal jersey with arm warmers.
I was so cold, I lost all feeling in my hands and feet, I was shivering for almost an hour after I got home.
This time for the 45 degree Fahrenheit start and the rain, I was prepared. Full fingered gloves, jacket, and even extra socks just in case. I also added a bike bag to my bike so I had a place to store them when it got warmer. And it did.
One addition would have made small difference, but all these seemingly small things added up to help me feel great despite the crappy start.
Sweat the small stuff, they add up.
6/ Rest for what’s to come, not what has passed
At each rest stop (there were three), I stretched and made sure I ingested enough carbohydrates and electrolytes to get me through the next stage. And boy was I glad I did that. I didn’t know how bad the wind was going to be and had I not taken the time to rest properly before that, it would be have that much worse!
Don’t see rest as a reward, see it as a staging area for what you’re going to tackle next.
7/ Enjoy the suck, it won’t last forever
Was I glad it was over when we crossed the finish line? Sure! But a part of me was already missing it, yes, even the most sucky parts of the ride.
If you’re toiling, if you’re in the suck right now, enjoy it. (I’m not talking about abusive relationships or anything like that.) I’m talking about being in a stage of your life where you are building, striving, taking the hits to get somewhere, achieve something. Don’t wish it to be gone, enjoy it while you’re in it, because like anything in life, it won’t last forever.
The Fulton Gran Fondo 2024 - All Done!
What should I do next year?
I wish you something sucky and beautiful.
See you next Sunday.
Live your legend 🤘🏽,
Howie Chan
Creator of Legend Letters
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