How much effort do you need to succeed?

How much effort does it take to succeed at something?

You can set a goal. You can learn about what it’s taken others to reach a similar goal. You can practice, practice, practice to get better at the thing you want to succeed at. (we talkin’ about practice?!) But ultimately, you’ll never know exactly how much effort you need to put out in order to succeed. 

I learned this lesson last weekend at a bike race. 

Over the last five years I’ve done a handful of gravel races every summer and it’s been a ton of fun. The 50-60 mile lengths are my sweet spot – or rather the max I really care to do or train for – while most of my friends are all doing the extreme 100-200 mile lengths. I joined a women’s team and while I am always hoping to improve (get stronger, fitter, faster) my training comes and goes with the rollers of life. I kept riding through years of constantly being sick and interrupted sleep that comes with having a toddler. There were busier times and lulls to my full-time job. And I occasionally was pulled more into the other sports I love to do. 

This year I signed up for a race I’ve done several times, a 50 mile gravel race in Fruita, Colorado in early May. I broke my thumb late fall, had surgery, and slowly recovered enough to ride again. I had a week long bike trip at the end of February but then spent the following 2 months skiing with my 6 year old on leisurely blue runs, and riding green mountain bike trails with her in Moab. Read: not training for said race. But that didn’t discourage me in the least, I was pumped for this race I loved doing.  

Well, who would have thought, but no training leads to a lot of suffering. Thankfully I have some sort of reserves and love being in the race atmosphere. I chatted up people during the neutral start, got onto people’s wheels and drafted as much as possible, and navigated well through tricky sand traps and on bumpy, rutted 4x4 roads. It was fun, until it really wasn’t. I was hurting all over, thought I might be bonking and made myself eat what I had. I rolled through the aid station as quickly as possible – why, who knows? But I have fun acting like it matters and doing things “like a pro.” I was nowhere near competitive for this race feeling as out of shape and run down as I was. So when the pain and suffering got bad, I told myself to chill out – not slow down – but to stop feeling guilty for not being faster or sad for expecting to finish in a worse spot than other races. I hadn’t trained for this really at all, so what did I expect? I usually finish in the top 3rd of my category/age group, which sometimes has landed me in the top 10 and feels good. But that clearly wasn’t going to happen this time. I tried to enjoy the scenery. I set little goals of getting up a steep climb where I could see other people off the bike and walking – and I did it, punched up without stepping off the bike. That felt good. I passed 1 or 2 people, but no women my age. The few strong women I’d managed to drop early on had passed me around the halfway point when I started feeling like crap… and I never saw them again. For the last 5-10 miles we were on pavement and I managed to jump in with a group of guys who caught me, drafting and chatting, which totally lifted my spirits until I didn’t have it in me to hang on any longer. Through all of that I kept trying my hardest, kept trying to mentally get to a place I could push myself and keep a decent pace.  

Here’s the twist to all of this. I GOT 2nd PLACE! I landed a spot on the podium for THE FIRST TIME! I was in the top 10% of my category, far better than any other races I’d done. I was finally going to get to hear my name called out, get up on the little podium, and get my picture taken — like a champ!

You’re probably thinking how silly, a little local bike race that some 37 year old mom did well in her age group. But it meant a lot to me. I’ve seen my friends get podium spots again and again, but I’ve never been there. And what’s struck me the most in the couple days post-race is that there was no way to predict this outcome. I’ve put in a lot more effort (in training) for other races. I usually focus on hydrating and eating right in the days leading up to a race. Last weekend I had a beer the night before the race! I’ve never done that before. 

I let my expectations go, but I didn’t let my drive go. From the very start I acted like I do in any other race, strategizing and making moves. I never gave up, and it paid off. 

So, you never really know when you’ll succeed. Success might not actually come when you put in the absolute most effort into getting there. If you show up and try your best, eventually the stars will align and you’ll still be there, trying and putting out the watts.

Will it be a bike race, or could it be a publishing contract? I sure hope the latter comes my way one of these days now that I have my podium picture.