The cycle

Winning a race feels great. Putting in the hard work then having it pay off when it matters feels great. The flip side to that is getting out of bed feeling like an elderly man. Aches, pains, soreness, and general fatigue is also part of the training. It's not fun, and it makes me wonder why I put my body through the wear and tear.
Some days it's all I can do to drag myself outside, and most of the time it takes a large amount of coffee. Then I get out on the road and that stiffness goes away. In it's place is the smooth feeling of my legs coming alive. As I turn circles and my heart starts to pump my motivation shoots up. Some of my best rides have started out with me feeling super tired then coming around.
It's rides like that where I learn to suffer through the hard part of a race. During every race there is at least one point, usually many, where you're just suffering hard and your legs want you to stop. If you can get through that point on your own, when there's no one else around you can do it when the race is on.
The more you do this the stronger you get mentally and physically. At times I even look forward to those efforts because I know that they only make you stronger. The next day you may wake up feeling stiff and sore, but you get out the door and start the cycle again.