The day
before race, I had a good visit at DMC and with Wagoners. I hadn’t seen Duane, Andriana, and Ace for
too long.
For 20
minutes on Friday, I searched for a way to own a car from the 80’s.
I arrived
race course unfit, unmotivated and jetlagged.
_300
meter
I started
slow and finished strong. I was
marginally slower than when I started aggressively.
_10k
My body
didn’t want to push. I let the pack go
early. “Keep it real.”
I kept
the effort constant, making sure I wasn’t doing majority of the work.
Final stretch,
I challenged Kevin from Oklahoma. I got
out of his slipstream and misjudged our stride width. Skates clicked. I lost balance but miraculously
recovered. “Keep it safe, you idiot!”
_half
Marathon
I didn’t
pay attention to the lap count, knowing I couldn’t count beyond 3. I stayed with same skaters as 10k, watching
Luke staying away, doing much of the work.
It was the
first high-heart rate workout after A2A.
I demonstrated poor left turn skill once every lap.
I faded
during the final stretch and saw Jamie in the corner of my eye. I reflexively hawked--my first front-split attempt
after reached legal drinking age. I
crashed. Helmet ground against
pavement. Road rash on elbow and
shoulder. A rib wasn’t happy.
For next
few days, I was terrified of sudden lung movements. Every sneeze reminded me of the law of large
number.
