I signed up for Pelofundo without really knowing anything about it. Pelofundo is a long distance event for Peloton riders, where riders chose to ride anywhere between 35 and 120 miles over the course of two days. My goal was to complete 35 miles. I was petrified going in, borderline about to to psych myself out of doing it with so many self-defeating thoughts: "what was I thinking"; "I'm not as strong as these other riders"; "what happens if I don't finish"...all these thoughts and more. I ALMOST didn't do it. Then I said, "Sis, just ride your race and come what may." Boy, am I glad I did! I decided on the first day to complete ALL of the Year of Yes rides I did not complete.
The Year of Yes is a collection of workouts from running to cycling to strength to yoga and meditation, all based around Shonda Rhimes book by the same name. When I say, valuable nuggets of wisdom were shared by Robin Arzon and Tunde Oyeneyin! Whew! On the second day, I braved a 45 minute Club Bangers Ride with Alex and HIT A PR!! I was so very proud of myself, because again...my head told me I can't hang with Alex!!
My rides with Robin told me that I AM royalty and that no matter what, no matter how messy things are in my life or what is going on, to straighten my crown and step into my royalty! She encouraged me to have a mantra that reaffirms my purpose in life. That made me think on this blog: Fit, Fab, Me. I AM fit, I AM fabulous, and I AM who I am!
Robin also said something that stuck out to me and I am sure resonates with many others. How many times have we been an "observer" in our lives, rather than an active participant? She said "start saying yes without fear and no without guilt". That is so profound because often as women, we take care of everyone else.
We are leaders at work, mothers with our children, wives for our husbands or the other half of a significant relationship. We invest so much into being sure everyone else is okay. We neglect ourselves and then wake up one day wondering "what happened". We invest so much into handling business that we don't "handle" ourselves. We are left tired, sluggish, stressed, overweight, underweight, drained, and so much more. In talking about taking care of ourselves, Robin quoted Audre Lorde, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation and that is a act of political warfare." That is a statement to embrace.
Tunde left me not only wiping sweat, but tears as well! When she talked about the body and mind being in alignment, I immediately thought of my previous blog post: Mind, Body, and Soul in Balance. I was reminded that when those things are in alignment, we are able to find our why. She said something POWERFUL: "Where you choose to put your focus is where your mind lives. Instead of focusing on a number, focus on a feeling." That's deep! When I look at my "before" pictures and think about how in three short years, I managed to gain 40 pounds, it's so easy to beat myself up over how I lost control like that and so swiftly. It's easy to hold on to that painful time in my life. Tunde said, "my past does not define my future, but I take bits and pieces of it to move forward." THAT is what I need to do right now...move forward into the GREATNESS I am!
Which brings me to my second day of Pelofundo and my ride with Alex Toussaint. Boy, when I said, I stepped out of my comfort zone in taking a chance on this ride, that is an understatement. Not only did I decide to ride with Alex, but ride 45 minutes! Again, it was a WINNER! He has so much energy and life, you have no choice to but to press on. More than once he had to tell "me" to "fix your face"! Cause I was looking U-G-L-Y!! LOL But this meme says it all in how I made it through:
At the end of the day, the main thing I took away from him was to "stop trying to make yourself fit in places you have outgrown". That is true not only for my rides (because I was getting comfortable with 15 and 20 minute rides, just skating), but in all that I do. With Peloton, the longest rides, I took a chance on were with my Power Zone training rides. With this Alex ride, I learned that I can ride the fun rides in MY race at MY pace! In the end, I was able to do a personal best on the 45 minute Club Bangers ride, achieving an output of 151, besting my previous 45 minute output of 137.
So, would I do Pelofundo again? Of course! After all, as Alex says, I need to view myself as a champion or a warrior and be the queen that I am. In the words of Robin, I am going to fix my crown and keep pushing! Next Pelofundo goal: 50 miles!!