Power

I love the feeling I get when I pound on those pedals in a high gear and feel the immediate effect on the bike. My front wheel feels ligther and my speed increases dramatically. If I was a car engine, I would brag about going 0-35km/h in 15 seconds or whatever, but for me that happy buzz is more satisfying than any stats.

This power surge is an addictive feeling. The rush and associated drain that I feel when accelerating up a hill on my bike or sprinting towards a finish line is something that I haven't been able to match any other way. The feeling of control over my body and the effect on the reality around me is overwhelming.

I felt a bit of that power this morning on my way to work. I fell asleep before I could go swimming yesterday. So this morning, I had plenty of energy to pour into the ride and it felt great. As I was listening to Iron Maiden's power cords on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, my whole being was focused on a single purpose: transform the sugars in my body into speed on the road. In synch with the music and mixed in with the traffic to my left, the whole stretch on the Ottawa River Parkway was pure bliss. This moment stayed with me all day, like an afterglow.
The morning commute took under an hour, so that's always good. With the time I saved this morning, I decided to go for a short run at lunch, the weather was just too nice to pass up. I ran 6km in about 28 minutes so I'm fairly satisfied with my speed. There were lots of people out on the roads today. Eat Static's Implant kept me company in the mix.
The way home was not as easy as the way to work. The helpful tailwind of the morning was still quite strong, however it became a headwind as I changed directions. It felt like going uphill the whole way. What a workout!!! I felt like rock and roll again so I got AC/DC's Black Ice in the mix.
Man oh man, I can't wait until my next race. I don't know why but on race day it always feel like everyone is watching and I have to do even better than usual. I know that the watchers probably don't care about me specifically, or those that do care about me don't really know the difference between me just showing up and me turning in an awesome performance. Everyone would be happy with whatever results I achieve. However I have to satisfy myself with an extraordinary effort, one I can look back at and consider how much I put into it and how good it felt that it all came together perfectly just this once...