Before the first race

[bubbaliciousbmxr]

Before the first race

I'm standing up in staging. I can feel the cold rush of adrenaline running through my veins up and down my arms and into my legs. My stomach is churning and I almost feel sick. I wearily look around to see how the other racers are reacting. This is my very first race- I have every reason to be scared- but still, I shouldn't be such a wussy.

Racers are standing all around me ranging in the ages of 5 to about 20ish. I close my eyes and inhale slowly. The cold, crisp, clean air fills up my lungs and as I exhale slowly I can feel the warmth of my breath. I look down to my pedals and close my eyes.

The sounds of clips against the asphalt is nerve racking to a new rider like me. I snap my head up and look around. Thoughts start to swirl throught my head, I know what I have to do, and I can pretty much guess how I am going to finish. But what will I do with the time between the gate drop and the finish line?

The staging lady walks up the grass to the starting hill. My pulse is now racing- the thoughts in my mind will not settle. This is it. This is my first race. I know whati need to do- I need to pedal, I need to push myself and I need to do my very best.

Thats when my name and gate is called out. This is it- times up and there's no turning back...

[bubbaliciousbmxr]

....The feel of my grips beneath my hands feel calming as i grip them insanely. I try to relax my tense muscles by rubbing my arm- but with no luck. The butterflies in my stomach are growing and I start to feel really nervous.

I am cold- my fingers are like ice cubes and i can feel my pulse pounding. The constant THUMP-THUMP-THUMP is annoying and is making me crazy.

Time is almost up. I am about to go...

I KNOW what i have to do....

I JUST NEED TO DO IT.

[bubbaliciousbmxr]

....I whisper the quote that I read before the race.

"I know who I am,
I know who I want to become,
I know what I have to do to get there,
I just need to do it."

But I only have about 45 seconds to gain a victory. Can I do it?