Tomorrow is race day!

Tomorrow is race day! Well, actually, today is race day, I've just been fiddling with this blog post, thinking it keeps posting, but have had issues with the site for the past few days. I've heard that staying up late helps with the adrenaline anyway, so I should be fine. E. and I went out into the woods today on my request, even though we were both so busy, because I needed some fresh air and to work out some tension I have had building up over this past very stressful week. We practiced dismounting and remounting, and while I'm still bad at it (like, quite bad) (like, really, quite bad), I at least know what I am doing right or wrong, what I need to work on in terms of my weight shifting.

It was a relief to hear that he was good at these sport-specific skills after a few years of racing. I tend to want to do something correct immediately or not want to do it at all. It's a wonder I do anything! After this high stress week, I'm happy to have something to focus my mind and body energy towards, a tangible goal with a definite end, calculative results. These things are so rare in the adult world, and I'm starting to see why crazy people like racing so much. Does this mean I'm going crazy?

The weather is changing, which means I am packing as if I'm leaving for a week - different shammies and warmers for different temperatures. My race is at 11 a.m., a time of great temperature shifts, depending on the moisture in the air. If it's still raining or misty out, it could be (or at least feel) like the low to mid 40s, but if it's dry and sunny, the same kid will leave me heaving and sweating by the end of the first lap. The learning process is so multifaceted! We're also going straight to a wedding shower after the race, so we need to pack additional outfits in a separate mud-free bag so we can pretend we aren't completely disgusting (they know we are though, that's what friends are for).