brider's place: Put on a happy face.
My noontime ride on Thursday made me think of something which he did to us during races back in the day (WAY back, like 1981).
He'd see us coming and ask us, "How are you feeling?"
He'd ask again, "How are you feeling?"
It would accomplish one of two things: we'd get ticked off and surge, or we'd laugh, smile, and surge.
There's something about smiling, even when you're feeling like crap. It actually helps your speed. Why? You can't smile and NOT feel at least a little better.
I tried it on my ride, though not on purpose. A truck passed a little close, and instead of cursing under my breath, or saluting his apparent intelligence, I just smiled. It was kind of a smile-and-shake-my-head thing, but it was a smile anyway. And an interesting thing happened -- I sped up. I smiled more. I sped up more. It turned into kind of an evil grin, and I spent the rest of the ride in masochistic attack on my average speed number.
Next time you're in an event, put on a happy face. Maybe even give my old cross country coach an "I FEEL GREAT!" down the back-stretch.
Thanks, Larry Sefrovich. Your lessons did stick.