Degrees of Discomfort

One of the reasons I cycle is the endless experience of self-discovery. 
 

Over the last few days I've been training on a course that encompasses all the best aspects of terrain.  Flats, hills, steep climbs, fast descents.  A 60 mile out and back course on road that is literally traffic free.  Long and short enough to offer both short time trialing and long distance training when ridden in multiples. 
 

After several hours I began to feel the usual discomfort one experiences when training.  I contemplated the nature of this discomfort.  Was it `pain?'  Was it `fatigue?'  'Soreness?'  `Aching?'
 

No pain.  No fatigue.  But I did experience soreness as I increased the watts of effort in pedal strokes.  Aching, too. 
 

Careful not to overdo it and cause physical damage I concluded that `soreness' and `aching' were forms of discomfort I could accept and keep pushing on. 
 

So, I've constructed a mental template of `discomfort' that will assist me in my training. 
 

• Soreness
• Aching
• Pain
• Fatigue

In competitive situations one certainly experiences discomfort.  And `discomfort' has a way of gnawing away at your consciousness, arguing to limit your effort so as to decrease the `hurt.'  Among the many mind tricks we employ in cycling (break a 100 mile course into ten sections of ten miles, imagining the sense of `victory' when crossing the finish line, etc) the `discomfort' ladder gives me another method to keep pushing.  

Or ...