Freelancing

When I was maybe 13 my soccer team was playing in the finals of a summer tournament where as underdogs from a small town we were pulling off a thrilling fairy tale run. The game was tied, we were in something ridiculous like the second overtime before it went to penalty kicks. It was close to 100 degrees and we were dragging ourselves around the field, wondering if this game would ever end. I still remember the view from left midfield as our sometimes-star forward Joanelle, who was a bit of a primadonna and a ballhog, took the ball all the way from midfield, dribbled around every last defender, and scored, winning the tournament. How to describe my gratitude, elation, and desire for forgiveness for every past criticism! Joanelle had delivered. I think of this now in relation to my bad habit of animating races at the expense of results. In a team situation it can be easy to pass off the responsibility to get a result to someone else, much harder to deliver yourself. Even though it was not the plan to finish up this season racing alone, racing alone is forcing me to try to deliver, which is probably the best thing for me. And if I do it right, it will make me a better team racer.