patience, missBliss

tonight's practice: having patience with myself.

the cough that has so wrecked me these last 2 weeks ... seems to have no mercy. but i cannot sit still any longer:

530pm, i found myself at white ranch, prepped and primed to take it easy. being off the bike for two weeks has not done anything positive for my mtbSpirit. i find a kind of comfort in the trails at white ranch, having ridden them ad nauseam for years. so i wanted to break back into the roll and play of things in a place that feels like home.

as expected, the trail head was ... full of people. the sky had clouded over, and the temperature was perfect for the pending climbs. i was excitedly anticipating the wacky little set of loops of climbs that i like to put together.......... after a bit of milling about and receiving a gift of GummiBearSweets, ed sent me off to reconnect with my lostMTBmojo .... how did i luck out in such a fantastic way?

i succeeded in taking it easy. legs could have felt much worse. in fact, i think i expected them to feel empty. they weren't empty ... they were flat, but they weren't empty (relief). the cough was there, tho. and that concerned me. topping out, eventually, found me a little freaked that i might never get rid of the cough and cold... feeling empty in energy is not a light thing for me. it scares me. and i panic. however, in all honesty, i was surprised i made it to where i was, and with the mtbSpirit that i had. reconnection gained. successful day.

at the top, in a crowd: one guy on the ground doing sit ups, three racer boiis pacing and chatting, and a few others that had rolled up just as i started chasing said racer boiis down mustang. i really shouldn't be racing or chasing. these efforts cause coughing. and that is BAD.

there is one significant thing about the current state of white ranch: the FLOWERS. if i had a real camera, i likely would have bagged the effort to hit all my loops, and gladly walked to take physical note of the the thick blanket of color and blossom. what a sight to behold, considering this area is usually bone-dry, hot, dusty. (ed, you really should head out there tomorrow and take your camera with you... i could meet you there again!?!?!).

anyway. the practice in patience will have to continue for the next few weeks. i must remember that it is going to take me a little while of deliberately kind effort to get back into my usual pace of things.

more so, i must remember that it's O K A Y that it takes me a while to get there.