Saturday, November 3, 2007

Reflections


In the window: This would be why I am drinking my coffee black right now. Decided I didn't feel quite like being seen driving the car to the store this morning?!










On the event:
One of the things I really value about our racing lifestyle is the way the experiences influence my growth as a person.
Sometimes our schedule is so crazy and the event so condensed that it can be a complete whirlwind. But that's part of the appeal too, when you can step back and be - phew- I learned alot there!

I arrived in Maui fit and ready to race, I really worked and trained in the last few months before this race to improve and be ready for my best performance that I could have. It was exciting for me and I love the opportunity to compete with the best in this sport at the top level.
Prior to the race I'd been asked in a TV interview how much I thought luck had to play in the upcoming race. ( They like this question). I said that to a degree it did but I thought preparation played a bigger part as did the way the person reacted to factors outside their control during the race. I put luck in the small category of things you truly couldn't control...
Had to laugh to myself the next day as I punctured my tire 3 1/2 miles into the bike section. Luck? ( could I have controlled it better... I could have done one or two things differently - extra scoop of Stan's solution, checked my whole tire for thorns before putting in my first tube... otherwise no not really).
But what did become immediately apparent to me was how much pressure I had put on myself for this event. And how much weight I felt from that too.... when it was suddenly gone, I was like wow.... in the future I am going to attempt to keep it more light , because you just can't take anything too seriously, as you really don't know what is going to happen in the future. At all.

This is one of the things that I think Brian does best, and it is part of the reason I am so psyched for his success in Maui. More than his 3rd place result the best part has been the phone calls and emails of congratulations, his friends happiness over his race, his own celebration of his performance, the toilet papered car! Brian works full time, he has many responsibilities that he keeps in perspective and races because he Loves too. Its pretty cool to see him succeed.

cheers
Jen.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is great to see you both succeed. And success takes many forms...

Anonymous said...

that is a super awesome post jenny, you guys are both superstars in my book!
=]
have fun relaxing chick
xo
sonia

Liz said...

Jen -I have enjoyed your blog.I work with Pat.I know how proud she is of both of you.Enjoy your time left on the islands.Tell Pat I can not wait to see the pictures!Liz