“Happy watts!”
“Happy watts!” One of my former teammates would always tell me how much faster you are when you are relaxed and having fun on a course. For someone who is known for getting very anxious and stressed before and during races, this advice was always super helpful for me. It gives me a little mantra to think about when I'm in the middle of a race or just a hard interval session, and reminds me to always just enjoy the ride. -Real Life Shred Girl: MTBer and Cyclocrosser Lily Peck'I can, I will, I will not be denied.'
"My coach in high school taught me a mantra: He said to ignore the negative thoughts in my head and just chant, 'I can, I will, I will not be denied.' All the other voices in my head were like, 'you suck,' 'you're not good,' and my coach said if I started using this mantra it would crowd out the negative thoughts. And it did."'I can, I will, I will not be denied.'"No matter how good or bad you feel, it's not going to last. I tell myself that in long races—even when I'm feeling good, I tell myself, keep eating, keep drinking, don't get too excited. And if I'm in a hole, I tell myself that it's not going to last, I can pull myself out of it. And if it's really hard for me, it's really hard for everyone else too." -Why You Need to Be Kind to Yourself (in Cycling + Life) with Rebecca Rusch
It won’t be easy but it will be worth it
I just had to keep reminding myself that What goes up must go down. Every time I got discouraged I would say “Elissa, You are biking the Continental Divide, enjoy it, it won’t be easy but it will be worth it.” -Shred Girl Elissa Cummings Talks Bikepacking the Continental Divide, Part 2 https://www.instagram.com/p/BqV_r2Og7bu/And from other Shred Girls...
lindsaydawnb: “I love hills” and “pain is temporary” 🤘🏼😊 shbcxrun: “Smiling gives me power”