With only a week left until my century bike ride, I’m in need of inspiration. Although I feel like I’m mentally prepared to tackle 100 miles on my bike, my mind is full of anxiety around how long it will take. Adding to the pressure, my husband and our baby and a few friends will be greeting me at the finish line. My goal time is 7 hours, barring flat tires; however, my husband thinks it’ll take closer to 8 hours. This makes me nervous about my speed, and slightly offended that he thinks I’m a slow poke. While the first half of the course is mostly hills, I feel that I can make up time on the back end (assuming I can still feel my hands and legs by then). But we’ll see. I’ve learned from childbirth that the best laid plans in the world go out the window when it’s go time.
I saw this on Greatist a few weeks ago, and it sums up what I should be thinking on the day of the event:

If this is your mantra, you can go to http://greatist.com/fitness/dont-have-to-go-fast-poster and buy the poster.