Celebrate the small successes

Too often we celebrate our big successes, but not the little ones. But why? Those little successes are just as important. Without them we can't achieve the big ones.

I'm spending the week in Tucson cycling and hiking. On Tuesday our ride host, Tricia, put together a challenging ride up to Gates Pass. Then called an audible and added a brutal climb up Sentinel Hill (it was more than a hill!) The first 15 miles of this 48 mile ride had us climbing over 1000 ft.

Having a snowy and cold winter in Chicago, I only had 25 outdoor miles for 2014 before heading to Tucson. But with my indoor training I hoped I had the strength and lungs to make these climbs. Well I'm proud to say I did them both.

My making it to the top was thrilling, but that wasn't what I was so proud of. For several years I've been working on increasing my cadence. I had been a gear masher since starting to ride a bike as a kid. So trying to learn a new way of riding and retraining my muscles has not been easy. But each season I increase my RPMs a few revolutions.

What I was so excited about and celebrated was that I kept a high cadence the whole way up Gates Pass. This is a small success but very crucial to my overall training and performance. Being able to keep a high cadence saves your legs muscles, letting you to go farther.

So as you go through your training, or life for that matter, be sure to celebrate your little successes. They are just as special and important as the big ones.

Share your successes. Let's hear from you.

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri