239: lightning in a bottle

Every so often you see a competitor who gets hot at the right time, or seemingly comes out of nowhere and produces their best results. At cross nationals last year Driscoll was an example of this, he got hot at the right time, pulled everything together, and pulled off his first elite national championship podium.

Jon Page’s runner up finish at 2007 World’s surprised almost everyone, and certainly was his best performance. Would anyone have predicted it after a season of injury? I guess not. On a local level, I remember a few years ago at the Hershey race my buddy Alan the cleaner, who had been a steady 3-4 in his class, won the race. He just rode away from his rivals. Again, he always had the ability, but for whatever reason, on that day, he was unbeatable. Outside of cycling and perhaps my favorite example of lightning in a bottle was Jim Valano’s NC State Wolf Pack in the 1983 NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack , a 6 seed, got hot at the end of the season, and upset Houston, a number 1 seed to win the national championship. That run is often heralded as one of the biggest upsets, and best examples of an underdog going all the way. Clearly one of the most surprising runs in NCAA tournament history.

This isn’t to say that Page, Alan the cleaner, Driscoll, or the Wolfpack for that matter hadn’t worked hard, hadn’t been in the thick of things for years, but for whatever reason things all came together at the perfect time, and all of them delivered their best performances when it mattered most, and delivered results that really were unpredicted, and unheralded. Some would say their performances were luck. I scoff at this, and answer with perhaps my favorite mantra, “Luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity”.

The big challenge for the folks that this happens to is maintain that level of performance, to be continue at a new level. I have always wondered how these folks delt with the day after, or the year after? How do you capture that lightning in a bottle for a second time?

I enjoyed reading about Garzelli who won the 2000 Giro. In an effort to win in 2001, Garzelli followed the exact training regimen from the year before. Every hour, every day, every minute, every climb, every mile. Despite these efforts, Garzelli finished second in 2002. It is these thoughts that have been weighing heavy on my mind of late. When I reflect on recent events, I know that I was certainly fortunate to have a lightning in a bottle moment, and frankly I recognize that trying to re-capture that would be a futile.

Two weeks ago, at half priced nacho night, Monkey and I had perhaps the best plate of Nachos we have ever had. Surprisingly, these came from Deer Park, which is famous for historically average piles a nachos. But on this night, the tray was almost perfect. Every chip covered in cheese, or salsa. There was just enough sour cream, and jalapeños that it was perfectly balanced. No, dry chips, and at the end of the night, when all the chips were gone, there was still some tasty treats left, that required a fork finish up. Unheralded, and perfect. Lightning in a bottle!

Sadly, this week we went back hoping for the same. I had visions of the Deer Park Cook, going through EXACTLY the same routine as he did the two weeks before. Getting dressed in specific order, perhaps wearing a lucky bandanna, or having the same pre-work meal a he did two weeks prior. Diane and I went through roughly the same routine we do every week in preparation for ½ price nacho night. Despite all of this preparation, the nachos were good, but not magical. They were typical Deer Park, average nachos.

That’s the thing, lightning in a bottle can’t be predicted, you just have cherish the times when you get to be a part of it…

Respect
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