Memory #10, Best Run, 18 May 02, Short O Champs (my
route and the
results )
Flyt. The Zone. Whatever you call it, I have experienced that feeling of everything going just right during an O race. Only once, at the 2002 short champs. I had been training fairly regularly, in order to try to win the US Champs in Nov '02. This was just one race along the way.
I had a lot of adrenaline at the start, but I also felt strangely calm. I thought: you know how to do this. As soon as I started, everything just clicked. I would glance at the map, look up, and think: I want to go _there_. And I spiked every control. I wasn't moving very fast, but I was absolutely clean. Everything made sense. I could read the map effortlessly.
During the run, I was vaguely aware that it was going well. But as soon as I finished, I knew. When Mike asked me about my race, I replied "I just ran the best race of my life". It was a great feeling. Bonus: I had also won my age class.
To me, this is my most meaningful US Champ title. And so far, my proudest O moment.