Today, I went for a long bike ride.

I didn’t want to. Now – to be clear, I did want to, but only because I knew that I’d eventually be happy about it. I was still procrastinating heading out the door, so I didn’t really want to.

Obviously, the ride would be hard. I’m still getting back into shape after a year-long fitness “pause” since moving to the Netherlands. Moving halfway across the world has a way of breaking routines, and adjusting to a new culture is a huge amount of stress. That extra life-stress meant that I had less room for training stress.

Every long ride that I’ve done so far has been worth it and I’ve loved it. It’s such a beautiful countryside, and the roads are so nicely maintained.

So why is it so hard to get out?

When you can get incredibly high-quality baguettes for €1.49, paired with delicious cheeses and mustards, and Spanish olive oil, it’s easy to put on a few kgs/lbs. Although living in the Netherlands with my fiancee has been some of the best memories of my life so far, I’ve been feeling more and more sluggish. And that momentum is really hard to break.

Training after a long pause

… it sucks.

I never entirely lost my fitness. I was running maybe once a week, and biking around town on my commuting bike. But it was a huge step down from my half-Ironman level of fitness from before we moved here.

So, starting over was really a challenge. But I knew I had to do it. I’ve been creating a training plan, two weeks at a time, with the idea that I might be able to do another half-Ironman this coming autumn. Trying to give myself some flexibility and grace for when I’m tired, but not use it as an excuse.

Today was warm, and I was sweating a lot. Still don’t have nutrition figured out here, so I only brought electrolyte water. I knew it would be a mistake to push it too hard today, but I felt so good that it was hard to stop.

Maybe days like this are how we change the momentum towards health and away from the laziness that we can fall into from time to time. But we still need to put ourselves up to the challenge to get out in the first place.