I race relatively rarely and very poorly. But I have great conversations inside my head. Here’s some of what I say.
During the race
- Two minutes in and my heart rate is already too high. I hate that
- I hate this rise in the road. I wish it looked as hard as it feels
- Stop staring at that rear hub, stop staring at that rear hub, stop staring …
- There’s always gravel on this bit. I hate that
- I’m sure my gears were OK when I rode to the start today. Now they’re clunking
- Perhaps it’s not the gears making that noise – the brakes are rubbing
- Mouth so dry, bladder so full. How?
- Is he working hard? Is she working hard? Am I?
- I hope I get to the turn-around with the rest of my group. I hate getting dropped before then: do I ride the whole course or just turn around and go home?
- I hate getting dropped after the turn around. Why didn’t they accelerate 5km earlier and save me 10km of riding?
- Here’s the place to attack, here’s the place. Attack!
- That wasn’t the place to attack
After the race
- That was fun! When’s the next race?