Get Your Chimp Out!

Yesterday I was feeling a little down, so I needed to P myself up. 

This morning, the cat, was driving me mad with his constant wailing, I know he does this before he finds somewhere comfortable to sleep (normally in the morning it's the sofa.... but I'm on that at the moment)  I just then thought, come on, get your chimp out!

When I was in a holding camp, prior to the Olympics, during dinner one night, the guys started talking about their chimps.

BC have a psychiatrist, they also proabably have  psychologists, but the guy I am talking about, is a psychiatrist, and everyone at BC talk to him.

The chimp according to Steve Peters (who is not only a very accomplised runner) says there are two aspects of your brain that work independently of each other. One is quite emotional and irrational; the other is logical, capable of making good judgments. He calls the emotional part ‘the chimp’.

One day, during the Holding Camp, I asked John the Mechanic how he got into being the BC Mechanic?  He used to race in Ireland (he's Irish) got involved in an accident, then ended up being a mechanic for the Irish Ladies Team.  It just snowballed from there. Do you still ride?

Na.

At a later chat at dinner, the Chimp conversation arose, John thinks (although he didn't say) that he's to big to be a rider.  So he doesn't ride.

Johns Chimp, is (what HE thinks）is his weight, that Chimp, the controlling emotional side of him is stopping him from riding.  He needs to set that Chimp free, and get back out on the bike.

My cat this morning, just needed to let his Chimp out and go and find somewhere else to sleep (which he has done)

Yesterday my emotions were running amock, I need to work on my Chimp too, do you?

Get a Life

During the Olympics, I was very lucky to live with these Guys. I've never really admired someone or persons before, but their commitment was just unbelievable.

I suppose that is what the difference is between Pros and us mere mortals.
Commitment.

I am weak, that's it, I have said it.

When it comes to being outside on the bike or doing sports, I am strong, very strong willed and minded, but at home, I fail, succumb to all bad things around me (although the wife is not at all bad)

This includes and is not exhaustive to beer and snacks.

Last week at the Cyclo Cross, I was given several bottles of beer. Yippeee I thought (at the time), I even did an amazing job of being a domestique, carrying 8 bottles at once in my short sleeve cycling top.

Problem now being, I have a fridge full of beer, and this is were I am weak. Snacks in the cupboard, beer in the fridge, and freshly bought DVD, just equates to one thing.

I need more miles in the saddle.

I suppose I have always had a weakness for snacks, I even remember as a child, missing out on school lunches and eating snacks instead, it's no wonder that my teeth are aweful (but I put that down to too much Gatorade, and the odd crash into trees)

Being with the Guys for 10 days in a holding camp, north of Beijing taught me a lot, but now, I have slipped back into my old evil ways, and with the multitude of parties coming along, I can either be rude, a party pooper or just except that this is the way it is.

I don't have an excuse, I am not at a level were I can command an excuse of something along the lines of

"Sorry Mate, can't drink anymore, got Worlds to prepare for" If that was the case, the answer back would be,

"FFS, that's not until next October, get a life"

So I suppose there is only one way to go about it, enjoy, take the rough with the smooth, work hard and play harder.