NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND WHAT I FORGOT ABOUT THE GERMAN SHEPARD THAT BIT ME IN THE BUTT
YEARS AGO, WALKING THE DUSTY STREETS OF MEXICO two dogs lay in the shade. The little mutt jumped up, yapping and pretending to nip our ankles...
... the old German Shepard waited.
Next thing I know, my butt is on fire, in the painful grip of the sneaky beast.
I run.
He hangs on.
I hit with my pack.
He's not letting go.
My butt was bruised, with slightly broken skin. But, my confidence around dogs was scarred for years.
That's the point of latching on and not letting go...
... to destroy the confidence of your foe.
It ain't easy...
... just effective.
But somehow I forgot that lesson today.
We charged up the opening climb, which was a gravel road. I was 10 back, then 5, then 2, then leading into the first single track. We were still climbing, but now i could control the pace...
... until the guy from Flow went by me.
He cleared the top about 10 seconds ahead of me. I wasn't too worried about it, figuring I'd catch him.
I did.
He was as nice as I was about the pass.
By the time we reached the bottom, I had about 10-15 seconds on him. He caught back up and we diced through the rolling single track back to the start.
He gapped me on the second a lap, a little earlier this time. I could see him, but I couldn't quite hold on. At the top, I figured I could catch again. In fact, I passed him (or so I thought) in about the same spot.
This time, he was way, way behind and I figured he must have flatted or crashed...
... and when Bryson yelled "He's really hurt" that's all I needed.
There was one problem...
... it wasn't him that I passed.
He was ahead, and what Bryson really yelled was "He's hurting."
So, while I'm thinking I've got this wrapped up and taking it a little easy over the rock sections so as not have have any mechanical issues...
... he's up ahead, winning..
That's why, you've got to sink your teeth in deep. And, not let go. Ride till you bleed if you must...
... be the German Shepherd, latched on and unshakeable.
Otherwise, you might do what I did and pull the full dork move and raise your hands up like you won when you cross the finish line...
... in second place.
Could I have won. gone 1 measly minute and 25 seconds faster?
We'll never know, will we...
... all we know for sure is, I let go.
Which meant I couldn't keep track of him? Who was it that I passed? His twin? A teammate?...
... doesn't matter.
We always feel like we could have gone faster when it's all said and done. Always...
... which kinda fires me up!
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You could say, I'm seeing red.
And, I'll definitely keep wearing the matching red socks and gloves.
Did you know, if you purchase the gloves and the socks together, the socks are free when you check out?
No promo code needed.
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158.5
8.1 hrs
Body Water 61.5%
0 Rounds of Strength Circuit
0 minutes recovery
60 minutes reading + Journaling
