P.O.W.E.R.!.

There's nothing like a great workout and a beautiful sunny day to lighten up your mood. In the pre-dawn light, I awoke to clear, cool skies, and the promise of a great bike ride. My goal was to hit my heart rate zones while working on my power (ie holding an rpm of 80-90). While spinning at 95+ rpm for me feels easy and efficient (especially in the upper zones), I really have to WORK to hold the lower cadence with the bigger gears. At the end of last season, I pledged to increase my leg power and power output on the bike - and this is just part of the process. This workout was an opportunity that I didn't want to miss.

So up went the bike on the trainer, a few words were written on my "motivational board", my ipod was raring to go, and I hoped on.

After my fatigue from yesterday, it felt good just to knock out a tough workout. Misery loves company, and for me, one bad thing will oftentimes morph into several (fatigue AND hunger!). But today's ride was exactly what I needed to get back into my groove I bled sweat (or so it seemed), and felt all the better afterwards. Take THAT Chocolate Santa!

During the workout, my mind focused on the oddest things. But I kept returning to the acronym of POWER!.

P - Push. Push through. Push it out. Push beyond yourself and hold on.

O - Ouch. Outstanding. You've only got one chance to nail this workout - a lot of "Ouch" now will help make you an "Outstanding" athlete.

W - Wonderful. Now that I'm willing to push the ouch, I don't feel wonderful. Physically, I feel like I'm about to throw up. Wonderful because I'm on my way to Outstanding.

E - Eeek! How much more can I give? Excellent - "push" more, make it "ouch" more, all on the way to hitting my "wonderful".

R - Right now. This is my focus. This is my world. I am Pushing Outside myself With Each Rpm. If not now, when? Right now.

! - !uck! This hurts. But its worth it - every time I do this workout, I will get stronger. So, yeah, I may be swearing up a storm, but bring it on.

When I read over my post from last night, I had to laugh. I was tired, I was hungry, and I was mentally exhausted from all the rain and cloudy weather we've been getting. But today was different: the sun was out (if even for a brief time!). Today was new, and today I felt better.

As for Chocolate Santa - Mel asked why I didn't just scarf the entire thing?

Well, because Chocolate Santa is a SOLID block of chocolate, and he packs a powerful punch. At 5.5 oz (156 g), Chocolate Santa can be divided into 22 servings. And at 40 calories (25 from Fat!) per serving, well - YOU do the math. Had I devoured Chocolate Santa, I would have not only been really sick, I would have developed an aversion to chocolate. I did as much damage as I could, enjoyed biting his head off, and then stopped there. Really, it was all I COULD do.

Nathaniel or the House Monster will have to enjoy the rest. Actually, NOT the House Monster, as we don't let Tabbs eat chocolate. So Nathaniel it will be! Maybe I'll go for an arm, or a foot, though. You never know...