Yesterday we cut the annual ski trip short to participate in the 2nd Short Track Series race in Charlotte. We got there and it was cold, clammy, and wet. There were a few kids warming up that I did not see the week before. Logan was confident, maybe too confident. He did not really warm up, drink, or eat good. He just wanted to show up.
Well the announcer says go and it is on. He is 2nd in the woods and second across the start finish on lap one. The new kid on a Litespeed is lighting it up. Logan is really struggling to stay on his wheel and they have a big gap on 3rd place (last weeks 2nd place). They come through the start/finish on lap 2 and it is about the same, but I notice that Logan is really struggling and it shows on his face. They still have a good 1 minute gap on 3rd. Then finishing the 3rd lap, Litespeed comes through, but there is no Logan. A few seconds go by and he crosses the line with tears in his eyes. He pulls over and complains about a crash in the woods, hands are cold, legs hurt, da da da. We sit there long enough for 3rd place to now become 2nd place and Logan pulls the plug. DNF.
There are a lot of factors that led to this result, but really the main ones are pride and inexperience. He went out too hard, he blew up because he could not handle 2nd place. He could have placed a very respectable 2nd place against older children, still maintained the lead in the series points, but 2nd is not good enough.
Now the real question is what do you do once you fall down? How do you handle defeat? You can look for other sports, play video games, cry about it. Or you can get back on your bike and ride your ride. Life is full of ups and downs, success and failure. God has given you the talent, will, and drive. What you do with it is up to you.
When you are ready to get back on your bike let me know. I hear there are some really fun trails out at FATS.
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