Learning to Say No

Sometimes less is more. We can get so caught up in quantity that we often loose sight of the diminishing benefit. This often holds true for documentaries, graduation speeches, vacation photos, and maybe this post. I've had a hard time convincing myself of this when it comes to training. I still find myself subconsciously thinking resting is synonymous with quitting. I think it goes back to my youth when I tried to make up for any lack of talent by working harder then everyone else and the habit is hard to break.

This past Saturday I went into the ride with tired legs but still couldn't convince myself to hold back from the early fireworks and actually won the first "intermediate sprint" with some personal best power numbers. Soon after there was a small mushroom cloud and I was done. Thankfully I had the sense to call it a day and go home versus trying to gut it out and then I actually took today off as well. My body says "thanks" while my mind says "wimp". Can the same drive that makes me successful also holding me back? As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I hope I learn how to say "no" at the right times and appreciate the quality over striving for quantity.