Originally Posted by
DMC707
I didn't think that being sick of training was such an unusual phenomena - I raced track with a guy who would show up for some open track time, then sit in his car for 30 minutes trying to decide if he wanted to ride or not--then he would turn around and drive home without ever unloading , -- but he would bring it on Friday night
-- some days I don't even want to look at the bike , unless its one of my vintage restoration projects ---which are fun to take for a spin - (technically that's still cycling , but with no training intent)- I almost prefer getting in 30-45 minutes on my concept 2
But I have some issues that are likely outside the bounds of this forum -- I'm going through a divorce/separation right now and feel kind of a "Whats the point" sensation often
I'm also a Clyde - I was losing weight slowly but steadily before the marital strife strictly with diet changes -- it was exciting , as every 5 lbs off, I could stay with my main group longer and longer at the local crit series, until finally , I broke through and completed a 45 minute + 2 without getting dropped
--- but now - the weight is falling off quite rapidly I assume from stress , but it is not a healthy feeling. I'm still able to sit in , even though I have almost no base miles, but the zest for mid week rides is gone, --- like I said, unless its on one of my vintage Italian lightweights
The downhill stuff --- I originally started that as a way to enjoy cycling as a heavier Clyde, -- initially it was just for giggles, but I have a extensive motocross background, -- and I kind of took to it quickly, - even with being quite large at the time --- I made some plans for some races, even mapping out specific weekends to get to closer locations for local race series and things like that, because, even with some native ability, - you have to learn to ride the rocks ------- but civilian life has gotten in the way and just finding someone to house sit while I go hit some slopes in NM or something for a couple of days has been an enormous pain (I reside on a acreage with a bunch of critters)
Note: I CAN ride my mountain bike without necessarily feeling like I have to go racing - taking little weekend expeditions to great ride spots is mad fun that I recommend to anyone
I have no depth of knowledge or experience with training as a general concept, I've only been cycling for 3.5 years and I only know myself. So what do I know about how usual or unusual being sick of training is?
The only thing that I'd say on that is: if your goal is to race, I'd figure out a way to make the training palatable. Maybe this is my perspective as a 50 year old woman, but I can't imagine things would go very well for me if I wanted to race but couldn't stomach the training. I could see a young fit guy with a boatload of talent maybe getting away with that and still managing to have fun racing. But if you're not that guy, it might not be fun at all to try to race without training. It might just be frustrating. Which is really not something you need right now.
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, between the divorce and the homestead and work and needing to lose weight and wanting to race. My life is pretty swell now but I spent 10 years digging myself out of a pretty deep hole which included some of the same things you're experiencing- unsolvable family issues over which I had zero control that played out over years, the need to lose significant weight, 100% lack of physical fitness, mega job stress. Trying to solve too many things at once can just lead to not wanting to do anything. You just have to chip away at it, little by little.
Maybe it would make sense to take a step back and reassess. Do you like cycling for its own sake? Maybe you should just use cycling as something to improve the quality of your life and burn some calories for the immediate future. Take the stress of "needing to train" off your plate right now. Ride the MTB socially. Get through the divorce. Decide if the homestead & critters are more important to you than travelling for cycling and racing (because they're somewhat incompatible things on a practical level). Not sure of the exact details of what you should do, just giving you some food for thought. Mostly the idea is that it's sounds like you need to simplify your life right now.