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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Racing Your Own Race




I’m not really sure where this blog post is going to lead, but let’s find out together.



I’m learning how to drag race with my motorcycle. I’ve always been the kind of girl that has seen something the boys are doing and said to myself, I can do that! Or if someone said you can’t do that, it’s just made me more determined to try it. Earlier this summer I visited my first motorcycle drag racing event. I saw some women having a great time and doing well holding their own. The little voice inside my head said ‘If they can do it, so can you!’ And so, the gears began to turn.
I’ve had 2 whole days experience at test and tune at the local drag strip, and several days practicing launching down the back roads in corn country. I’ve always been a chronic over achiever, determined to be good at what I do right from the start. I’m always looking for that nod of approval that indicates I’ve impressed someone. It’s a deep seated need for acceptance and admiration, that I’ve recently attributed to the ‘daddy issues’ many women carry. (I’ve had little contact with my father since my parents’ divorce when I was 6. Dad has his reasons for not staying in touch with me, and because he’s a volatile selfish person, I know I’m far better off, but it leaves a need within me nonetheless.)

I’m blessed enough to have several people that I know and talk to on the net who are experienced in drag racing, and qualified to give plenty of advice. I’m trying to absorb all that I can in as little time as possible. The problem with that is, there is too much of a good thing. Drag racing is something that you can only practice on a track. You can try things on the street, but it isn’t the same environment. The road isn’t sticky like the track, you have more things to be aware of for your safety on the road too. Practice makes perfect, but that’s hard to do when you’re limited. When you go to a test and tune, you’re in line waiting, so you only get so many tries to get it right. This weekend was my 2nd official real track experience. I did pretty well on my first go round. I was fairly pleased with myself. But this time, having had more input, and having someone there with me, helping me become aware of what I’m doing and what I can change, it made me totally conscious of all the elements I needed to work on. It’s great to have that kind of knowledge, but when you have half a second at the lights, and 12 seconds down the strip, all of that information going through your head tends to make things more complicated. Then add to all of that, the brief thought that all the power that you’re about to unleash is dangerous and could result in major disaster if you’re not careful, and it makes for one heck of a nerve wracking experience. So much to focus on, so much to put out of my head!

I did worse on this second attempt at the track, and it really frustrated me. Not terrible, but not better, and I had it fixed in my head that I did well the first try, so it should be nothing but improvement from here, and I expected it. The truth is, I was trying to do it all at once, take it all in, fix it all now, get better fast. I was trying to implement all the advice and knowledge at one time. Then, when things started going wrong, I had no foundation for knowing which thing was the issue with my poor performance. Because I was trying too many changes all at once, I was unable to pinpoint which thing was causing my trouble.

I got to thinking about how this can be applied to life as well. Lots of advice and opinions coming at me from all sorts of directions can be helpful and useable. However, if you try to do it all, and do it all now, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see improvement, in fact, too often, that can lead to painful screw ups and lessons learned. It's best to focus on one thing at a time. It’s easy to do when you have unlimited time to try it all one thing at a time. But if you’re in a race to the finish line, you tend to be in a hurry to try as much as you can, and sometimes, that doesn’t have the results you were looking for. But, that being said, just because something doesn’t improve, doesn’t mean you should give up and stop trying. Tweak the changes, cut them down to manageable chunks, and be patient and look for improvement. Even the slightest improvement can be motivation to continue. And if you don’t see improvement, don’t give up, and don’t obsess, and by all means, don't compare yourself to anyone else. Analyze what you did, think about how it can be altered, or try something completely different, and watch for changes again. Life, like drag racing, is a learning process. Just because someone else beat you to the finish line, doesn’t mean that they’re better. For all you know, they didn’t do their best either, and they could be trying new things to make changes to get them in the right direction too.
Race your own race!

1 comment:

  1. This is strange, as my mind was also preoccupied with racing and in similar fashion I also wrote one of those "don't know where this is going" blog posts. I am so proud of you! A little envious, too. But in a good way. :) You can then be my inspiration. I practiced 9K race starts today... no, let me rephrase that: I TRIED to practice. I totally understand what you were saying when you explained what you went through at the line, the thoughts, the insecurity, and the obligatory "holy shit! this could really screw up my day, if I mess this up!" confidence killer. This post just made my day. We are, indeed Sisters In Speed. =D You, girl, serve as my inspiration. So next time I choke at 9,000 I know where to find my inner Bitch to pull it off hard and fast! *nods*

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