Goals/expectations of myself for the trip & ride today

Today I went on a 35 mile ride. I did the same path that my mom and I do but I did it all instead of a portion of it. It was a rough ride for several reasons.

First, the trail disappears when you hit Old Town Alexandria and you pick it up again after a couple of miles. There was very little markings to guide the way and I spent a lot of time getting confused. Luckily, I know Old town pretty well so I managed to find the trail.

Second, 10 miles into the ride and 10 miles away from my car, I completely wiped out. I saw a turn too late and still tried to make it and I was on a wooden boardwalk. My bike went one way and I went the other. I skidded across the boardwalk, stopped, and assessed the damage. I scraped up my knee a little and my elbow a lot. A runner I had just passed helped me up and my bike, told me it looked like other than a couple of scrapes only my pride was damaged. What pride, I thought? Once I put my chain back on the COG, I got back on my bike and kept on going.

Third, my energy levels got pretty low and the last 6 miles was not so much fun. I got through it though and I probably could have kept going if I had something else to eat.

Despite the above, it wasn't too bad of a ride. I went from .5 miles to Mt. Vernon all the way into Rosslyn. It wasn't too crowded and I didn't get too hot. The views were gorgeous and my first break was checking out Theodore Roosevelt Island and then watching planes fly right above me on their way to the airport. Yesterday I had ridden about 12 miles in my neighborhood and I thought this ride was actually easier. My neighborhood is just a bunch of rolling hills so I was constantly climbing.

Ok, now onto goals/expectations of myself for this trip. These are the things I hope to accomplish:
1) DON'T COMPLAIN. Yes, it's going to be hard and yes, I am not as prepared for the riding as I should be. I knew this going in and I've brought a lot of the struggle on myself. I need to "soldier up" as my dad would say and get through it. I wanted to do this partly because it's a challenge that I want to overcome. As far as everything else goes (accommodations, showering, etc) just go with the flow and enjoy it.
2) STAY POSITIVE. This goes along with the above. Find pleasure in the roughing it and the dirtiness and everything else. I am usually pretty good at looking at the upside of not so great situations and I want to continue to do it here. Think of the hardship as a great group bonding activity.
3) TRY TO GET TO KNOW EVERYONE. Make sure to have a meaningful conversation with everyone on the trip and don't just stick with a few people. There are going to be people I get along with better than others but everyone has something to bring to the table. I did a pretty good job at this with my last habitat trip and I enjoyed the experience that much more.
4) SLEEP. My body does not handle little sleep well. Consider how it went into shock for a couple of days after my spring break trip. This might mean sacrificing bonding for an early bed time but something tells me everyone will want to get to bed at a reasonable time.
5) GET FIT AND STAY FIT. After this trip I expect to be in the best shape of my life. When I get back I want to stay that way. I need to find a half marathon to train for or start training for a triathlon. I do a lot better with exercising if there is something to work for. My job next year has a lot of uncertainty as to location of client, hours, etc so it's important to have a flexible plan for fitting in exercise.
6) EAT AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE. I need to keep my body fueled but I also need to avoid unhealthy foods that make me more lethargic in the end. Seeing as a lot of our meals are provided I may not have much choice in the matter but I just need to take care of myself. I think I might ban soda once the trip starts but we'll see how it goes.
Finally
7) HAVE FUN. Enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Take time to enjoy a gorgeous view along the way. This is the experience of a lifetime and I need to make sure I'm not just focused on getting the ride done and getting to the end but also must enjoy it along the way.

Next post I'll post my route and mail drops. I leave on Sunday to head up to Boston with my parents and then they will drop me off at orientation on Wednesday.