here I go again...

for the 199th time in the last 12 years, I prep myself for a bike race.

for the 16th time, it will be a 24hr race on a relay team.

doubt creeps into my head.

have I trained enough ?

have I rested enough ?

Am I good enough?

are my sideburns strong enough?

this weekend I'm racing on perhaps the best 24 hour team I've been on .
all great riders all good friends.

Am I the lead ass of this group?

I think about my wife, who has put up with me being late, or waking her up as I leave the house at 5:00 in the morning for a pre work ride. How many times did she hear the "I got a flat..." story. She just smiles and knows I was looking for one more hill, or one more mile. She supports me so much, she knows how much this means to me. I never want her to be associated with anything but my best. One of my greatest fears is that someone says, "aw Diane married that slack-ass, she could have been somebody..." She deserves the best, I have to give her mine in everything I do...

I stood on the scale this morning. 168lbs. Fighting weight. yeah boy.
the 7lbs gained on my vacation are history. Maybe it's the wrestler in me, but I suffered this week through my workouts, and counted calories like a banshee, burn more during the day, than I take in. It was tough but it made sure that today, I was 168lbs. I had 2 slices of pizza yesterday, I wanted 4, but 2 insured I'd be back to climbing weight. It is after all easier to haul 168lbs over a mountain than it is 175lbs.

did some scouting work. tough teams in this race, including the 2x champions. Do they think they will win easily this weekend? What's their mentality ? That team includes a guy who took 4 minutes out of me each lap in WV. He's fast. Very dangerous, how will I measure up this time?

Will I crack?

Will I crash?

Will this be the race that breaks me?

Will I have fun?

I look forward to seeing my friends, I look forward to the road trip. I love this stuff, I love this game. My legs ache. I need to stretch. I don't think I slept well enough last night. Maybe it's all in my head.

you know this game is 90% mental.

I pull out my check list. It helps me to control the things I can...

I review it in my head.

2 pink helmets,

4 wool jerseys

7 pairs of gloves

1 pair lucky pink sox...

this doesn't really help but it's all I can do to keep my cool...

why didn't I take up checkers as a hobby? Can you wear pink sox while playing checkers?

This is going to be a great weekend... Hoping you and yours have a safe and fun labor day...

respect
fm