Dealing with adversity! (or not)

Last week went very well and I got through the long rides/runs. This will be my biggest volume week going into Lake Placid and I am feeling it. I am trying to keep the focus as I know my taper is around the corner. Had a little breakdown on Tuesday as our weather has been beautiful but full of thunderstorms lately. You never know when you going to get caught in the rain or pulled out of the pool due to lightening. Tuesday I had the attitude of "I shall get this 4 hour ride in no matter what weather rolls my way!" Now I was heading out into some very black skies. I decided to stay close to home and do loops up my 2 least favorite sections of road....hospital and squankum...both hills followed by false flats. After a few showers which were enough to make the downhills a little to slick, I decided that misery likes company so I went to meet a group that I knew would be riding. They were waiting out the pending storm as they had heard thunder. I told them I would ride and come back for them in half an hour. If I didn't come back to call 911 as I had been struck by lightening. I did the loop, came back for the group, we get about 5 minutes into the ride and it starts pouring so hard that you can't even see the road. All but three of us turn back. Now I'm soaked,cold, and my hamstrings are so tight that you could make music on them. We are riding at 8 miles an hour...and my enthusiasm is wavering. We keep on and in the distance we see a sign of sun ahead. Fifteen minutes later we are riding free, well kind of. Traffic lights have stopped working and the roads are backed up. Roads are slick and the ride is slow. My buddy Bruce gets a flat. They tell me to keep riding so I go...probably a mistake! Five minutes later I get a flat. Second one of the week. I try see the positive,at least I get to change my flat on my own.....these awesome guys are always so quick to help and I never say no. I time myself....9 minutes...pretty pathetic I know but I had a giant staple I couldn't get out. Another ten minutes go by and I get another flat...AAAHHHHHH! I change it a second time but my spirit has finally been broken and I don't rush. I head back to my house as I have no more spares with me! I got 3 and a half hours in but it was by no means a quality ride.
As any good coach should do Paulo told me to get over it and that tomorrow is another day. I guess I am still writing about it two days later I must not quite be over it. But I have since then run a solid 34 miles, biked 80 miles and swam 4000 hard yards so my head is back in the game. Oh yes,and that was just 40 hours ago! I am definitely getting the work done!