The mental gymnastics we are willing to go through to maintain our beliefs can certainly be amazing... it's always an eye-opener when I catch myself going that way.
I asked my FB-BFF's for book recommendations awhile back, which led me to read "Bad Blood", and then I started Steinbeck's "East of Eden". I'm enjoying a slow read of that (great account of the history of the Salinas valley), but took a break with about 25% left in order to read Tyler Hamilton's book. It's truly a great read... not just the inside take on the cloak and dagger stuff the teams do in their doping wars (prepaid cell phones, thermoses in motorcycle saddle bags), and the insights into Armstrong's personality (egads!)... but his descriptions of hitting his limits. How he describes pushing against the threshold of what he could do, and how that was affected by both training and doping, are real gems. After pushing pretty hard aganst my meager limits this past weekend, I love his descriptions. Of course, his ability to push through is legendary.
The entries in his training journal are jaw-dropping: 371w average when he weighs nothing... going up a yardstick climb at 6.9 w/kg and having that totally piss off Lance and undermine their relationship. And all based on a strict, doctor controlled regimen of chemical enhancement of natural ability. Then came yesterday's release of the details in the case against Armstrong. Reading that, I almost got confused and thought I was still reading Hamilton's book, as they both describe many of the same activities. It's really something. EPO in particular turned the contest into one where the guys who had the best ability at a relatively low hematocrit level (Armstrong and Hamilton were in the 42 range) were the ones who could be superstars when they boosted that up to the UCI's limit of 50. Those naturally close to 50 (and of course those unwilling to play the doping game) became pack fodder or left the sport.