Mental Fortitude- Taking A Deep Dive Into Unbound 200 and Beyond
Fortitude: strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage (Merriam-Webster). Mental fortitude: the ability to have strength in the face of adversity. When you’re knocked down, get back up and fight.
The Unbound 205-mile gravel race in Emporia, Kansas last weekend was a vivid reminder of the type of mental fortitude bike racing teaches us. Going into the race I had high hopes of winning the amateur race and standing on the top step of the podium just like last year. This would not be the case. At mile 50 I knew it was not going to be my day. The heat and humidity stole any power I had and I simply could not “race” my bike. By mile 80 I was exhausted and wanted to throw in the towel. At mile 140 I could barely turn over the pedals and had the random opportunity to get in the team car. I felt like if I continued I was going to get heat stroke and put my life at risk. Then came the thunderstorms. I had to put my results aside and reframe my goal to one thing- finishing the race. And I did. I have no doubt in my mind that it was 100% mental fortitude that got me to that finish line. Years and years of training my brain to push through pain, dehydration, negative thoughts, tight chest, anxiety, heat exhaustion, cramping, nausea, you name it and I experienced it. So how does one develop mental fortitude you might ask? Let’s get into it…
Reframing your thoughts: ie mind control
The ability to keep a positive mindset is the hallmark of mental fortitude. This doesn’t just apply to bike racing but to all life’s challenges. Getting laid off from your job could be the catalyst you need for a career change. Having your heart broken can teach you lessons about what kind of partner you really want as well as forgiveness. Every challenge is an opportunity for personal growth. By letting go of the outcome and focusing on the process we are able to create a new narrative. When you can see setbacks as a chance for growth and an opportunity to learn from your mistakes to become a better version of yourself and stay motivated for what lies ahead. At Unbound, I constantly had to reframe my thoughts minute by minute, pedal stroke by stroke. The heat was causing the majority of negative thoughts so rather than letting the thoughts spiral out of control I started to think of the heat as energizing. The sun became a magnetic force that continually propelled me forward. I changed my narrative from being disappointed that I wasn’t winning to thinking about how this race was purely a “personal growth challenge”.
Understanding what drives you (connecting to your WHY)
Take a moment and really ask yourself what drives you to do what you do? For me it’s asking myself why I race my bike. What drives me to train and travel to these brutal events year after year after year? In the darkest moments we must draw upon this WHY. For me it’s a deep love and passion for the sport. Loving all the moments, the high and the lows, falling in love with the process, waking up and feeling this connection first thing, loving the pain, loving the glory, loving to test my limits. Setting a goal, developing a plan, and executing it on race day. Being committed to the goal, and seeing what I am really capable of, and where I can take my mind. Loving the mental, physical, and spiritual journey. Training my body through physical fitness application and showing up to the start line knowing that I’m as prepared as possible to go on a mental and physical journey. Reminding myself that I chose to be here, and that it’s a privilege to pedal my bike and suffer. Keeping a sharp eye on my long-term goals allows me to better deal with short term setbacks. Eyes on the prize.
Know yourself and be confident in your abilities
If you want to build mental fortitude you must have a clear understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, flaws, attributes, and how your brain works under pressure. Just getting on a bike and building physical fitness is not enough. If you are an anxious person, you will need to address this along with other personality traits. Building mental fortitude requires us to look in the mirror and make a critical assessment of who we are, both good and bad. You must be open and humble. Developing mental fortitude makes us grow and become better versions of ourselves and helps us to become better surfers of the waves of life.
Experience builds confidence
Building mental fortitude doesn’t happen overnight, it is built over years, with incrementally increasing challenges and learning along the way. One must continuously put them self into situations that test their limits. Set yourself a challenge that you have passion for and commit a plan to do it. Practice hardening your mind through training and putting yourself in similar scenarios. If you know there is going to be adverse weather, then train in that type of weather. This is where I went wrong at Unbound. With 90 degree heat and 90% humidity, I should have made time for sauna training and/or hot yoga. Lesson learned and now I know better moving forward. Although a result was out of the question, I could still control how I gauged my mental fortitude. Even though I didn’t win the race, it was not a failure. The growth that came out of persevering and finishing as strong as I could will carry over to all future events and life challenges. Measure yourself against your own ability and work ethic while not comparing yourself to others.
Have fun and enjoy the journey
We do this because it’s fun. If you are able to consciously remind yourself of this then you are accessing your mental fortitude and making something unenjoyable enjoyable. This is when you have reached a higher level of consciousness. If you can become one with your mind and body and revel in the pure enjoyment of the activity, even under the most brutal conditions, then you are reaching a higher plane. When things get hard, pause, take a deep breath, and smile. This will help bring clarity, strength, and most importantly decrease the stress response. By treating each event as a journey and detaching from the outcome we can stay fully present and soak in each moment, each breath, and each pedal stroke.
Finishing Unbound 205 mile in Emporia, Kansas. Photo by Brian Chapel Photography.