Change is as good as a rest?!

For the last week I have had a complete break from climbing and taken myself off to bike the West Country Way.  5 days and 510km later, my legs are a little sore, but I feel incredibly serene and focused (unbelievably!).  Reflecting on why, I realised that there was something about the rhythm of cycling which helped me stay absolutely in the moment, riding through some beautiful countryside, thinking of nothing but experiencing everything.  It reminded me of what psychologists call a "peak experience", and what climbers refer to as "flow", something I have experienced a few times climbing.  This is when our mind is aware only of the present, something which can be difficult in today's striving society.  During this peak experience, time seems to both stretch and contract so that minutes seem to last both forever and to pass quickly.  We experience a sense of mental stillness, and not so much euphoria more as contentment.   This has obvious parallels with mindfulness meditation.

So even during my hard slogs uphill and at the end of the day where I was tired, I still felt contented and as though I had been meditating through the day.  Coming back home, I expect to see the benefits of these 5 days cycling transfer to my climbing in a number of ways.  Firstly there is the obvious benefit of having stronger legs and greater cardio-vascular fitness!  Second, there has been 5 days of practice at staying in the moment, even during discomfort (we often try to avoid staying with difficult sensations, thoughts or feelings).  And finally, there is the psychological advantage of knowing that something that seemed such a big task was achievable by breaking it down into small 15km chunks - more about "chunking" in the next blog post:)