Attitude

note - i wrote this prior to my latest effort but am posting after as i wasn't able to find a suitable internet connection during my travels.  The race is over.  My team placed 8th in the premiere division and was the 9th of 10 teams overall that finished the full course. We raced for about 80 hours on (for me anyway) about 3 hours of sleep.  Report coming soon.

I'm heading out on monday to Portland Maine to take place in the untamed New England adventure race - a four day odyssey through remote wilderness regions.  This race will be the biggest and most competitive event i've attended since my initiation into expedition length AR back in 2006 when i took on Primal Quest.  50 teams - 200 racers - will be vying for top spot, among them a bevy of international teams including the reigning world champions, team Thule from Switzerland - one of the only fully professional AR teams out there. 

The race course looks grueling.  I was pretty worked after my extra long bike ride last night (clocking in somewhere over 90 minutes).  After a similar effort on wednesday (when the race begins) i'll have completed roughly 2% of the course.  But honestly, i'm not too worried.

Maybe i should be.  Maybe it makes no sense for me to be confident - to believe that i can keep up with and be a contribuiting member of a team that is aiming to be one of the 20% or less of teams that typically complete the full course, if not , if not on the podium itself. But in my experience, attitude (which stems from confidence, about which i've written extensively) is important. 

Thinking back, i've always had a bit of attitude.  As a teenager, even though i was pretty much a wall-flower in most social situation, i'd talk a mean game of smack when playing raquetball with my brother.  Today my attitude involves less smack talk but plenty of smack-think, at least until i start racing.  Starting a race not thinking you have what it takes to do well just seems a bad idea, regardless of where your training has you, physically speaking.

And then once you start?  just let it go, focus on the task, and accept whatever happens.