There is a fine line between excitement and nervousness; pain and pleasure; dedication and obsession.
24 degrees. Windproof tights, 2 jackets, warm gloves.
45 second intervals – all out efforts.
Why are the last 3 seconds always the hardest?
Quads burning, lungs experiencing equal pain.
Each inhale is a reminder of the ambient air temperature.
It is December; it is cold, and I am doing the intervals that will make me stronger, tougher, faster.
I roll back to my invisible starting line; ready to repeat 45 seconds of pedal-turning bliss.
USGP, Cyclocross Nationals
What are you thinking?
These races are different. I will not be racing to win. I will be racing to survive.
I will be racing for the experience of lining up with the likes of Katie Compton, Amy Dombroski, Alison Dunlap, and Georgia Gould.
I will stand on the line, honored that I can pretend to chase these ladies around for three-quarters of an hour.
I will race as hard and as fast as my legs will allow; I will remember the time and effort and support Damian, Don, Ben and Team Sunnyside have given me.
I will race because I love it.
I will race because it makes me smile.
I will race because somewhere deep down, I can’t seem to draw the line between love and hate, dedication and obsession, pleasure and pain.
Last night I got some advice from Ben; the person who knows me better than any other being on earth:
Race like you are crazy.
5 comments:
Train like you are a robot and then do what Ben says race like you are crazy. Awesome advice from Ben. Why would we race anyway if we were not crazy. Accept it from the start.
I will also race like I am crazy. My doctor already thinks so.
I like that idea. I will try that too although it won't be hard to feel crazy in freezing rain...
and you ARE crazy, so it's good advice. Nice job brother-in-law.
I'm gonna yell at you like crazy then take Ben's advice myself! Looking forward to it.
Ben may not stand on the starting line or zip up a skin suit or know the indescribable joy of pushing pedals through bottom-bracket deep mud - but he knows the glory of competition, the adrenaline that flows through the veins of a competitor, and he gives darn good advice!
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