IT'S NOT HOW YOU START

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A FINISH LINE.  It marks the end of the effort.  There's nothing beyond it, nothing to conserve for.  This is it.

Everything that went before is moot, sunk costs.

It started when I put it on my calendar.

Then I trained.

I worked on my bike.

I got signed up.

I drove to the venue.

I lined up.

Off we went, me and 400 of my closest friends.

The energy was savory and electric.

We were going all out for 100k.

I surfed up to riders my pace. 

We worked together.

A bond of brotherhood/sisterhood formed.

The speed was beyond anything I could do on my own.

All along, it felt like I could throw down my fastest 100k EVER.

As the end neared, it seemed to get farther away.

My legs ached, my lungs burned.

Could my bike be getting heavier?

Do I have a flat?

Are my brakes rubbing?

Questions only a loser would ask.

I'm a winner and I'm wringing every ounce out of my body.

Because I know this is what it feels like to do my best.

It's not how I start, it's how I finish!