Racing
The sun rises above the hills and illuminates the frozen fields surrounding us, as we make our way on winding roads. My nerves. I can’t stop them. My mind is anticipating the future, the very near future. however, I am excited. I know I’m ready and look forward to that future. I try to bring my mind back. breath in, breath out. It becomes repetitive and soon I am in a consistent rhythm. We arrive and I begin the well-routined practice of transitions. Get the number, rack the bike, attach the shoes and position the running shoes with open mouths. With everything positioned its now time to warm up. I do a short jog seeing the ocean. The sun is calmly breaking the sea mists hold on the land as it has done many times before. As if has no idea of the chaos about to begin. Before long I am there, in a black suit standing ankle deep in the water, ready to race. The nerves. There still there. Deep breaths, Focus. A horn goes off the nerves are gone, I am focused.
The line. I have crossed it. I am done, finally I am done. My slow methodical thinking from before is now replaced by shallow breaths in a rapid succession along with spontaneous thoughts that leave as fast as they come. I begin to start to slowly walk but it is more of a hobble, my previously abundant energy has now been littered all over the course leaving nothing for me. I stop and look around. The sun has taken hold and banished the sea fog away for another day, leaving the sun to warm our souls. It’s over I know it. I did well, went hard so I am happy. I go to the previously meticulous transition area and find my gear strewn over the transition. I don’t care, they have done their job well. I proceed with chucking them in a bag to allow myself to neglect them until we are home. As I go for a warm down jog I reflect on the race and take notes of the important moments as to improve for next time. We load into the car and hit the road, I watch as the sun makes its way behind the hills to rest. letting the night take hold. apparently, I am not the only one tired.
Laurie, I can see that you are experimenting with varied sentence lengths here to show the experiences of the narrator. However, I would read through this writing out loud to ensure that the details do not seem too “listed” in places. Also, there are a number of simple technical errors here that need to be fixed before this piece is published. Lastly, is this writing 350 words? You may wish to extend some of the descriptions in places.