Day three of Charlotte UltraSwim. I was an anti-doping volunteer, helping USADA to carry out drug test on swimmers. While waiting, I watched a couple of final events, including Men's 200 Fly. Many great, world class swimmers were at the meet, but Michael Phelps was at the center of all focus. Winning eight gold medals in one Olympic has elevated him to the status of a hero. We wanted our hero to win. We cheered; We stomped; we roared. But I was left moaned as Wu Peng pulled ahead in the final 50m and took another win of the 200 fly which was once "Phelps event." Last month, Wu overcame Phelps, ending his winning streak. To see Phelps swim live for the first time and see him lose is a disappointment, I have to admit.
I probably wouldn't admit how stressed I was the whole week leading up to Highlands Sky 40. Now that it's over, I realized I was partly in denial and partly rationalizing it as healthy nervousness. A 40-mile race is long for me. It's technical. And I pulled my lat muscle carrying a handheld bottle a week before the race. I am out of my comfort zone. At the start As everything in this world that is governed by time, the race is bound to happen like an unstoppable incoming train. A line from Bridges of Spies came to mind the evening before the race. When his lawyer James Donovan observes the alleged Russian Spy Rudolf Abel doesn't seem a bit nervous about his pending trial, he asks him about it and to which Abel responds: "Is it going to help?" Of the many things that I am concerned about the race, weather isn't one of them. We start the race in cool mountain temperature and I find myself nestle in the crowd, just going with the flow. There are dist...


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