I never thought it would get this far. Every day, training, sweating, bleeding, crying, falling down and forcing myself to believe in myself one more time. I distinctly remember the clenching of every single muscle tightening and contracting as I pushed my body past its intended regiment. As the sweat beaded at the top of my forehead and rolled down profusely, each one picking its own path forming a scripture of hard work; a parable of dedication, I could taste the wisdom as it ran across the tip of my lips. Each inhale expanding my lungs filled my chest with a burning sensation that engulfed me to the point of exhale… But each exhale felt like a cool river slipping past my body’s defenses and adding relief to my human equation.
Yet none of this was pain… Each excruciating thrust I forced myself to endure was succumbed to a different feeling as I tossed my body so vigorously to and fro. This feeling was not agony but effort. This was effort that burned my body, this was effort that ripped my muscles to shreds and rebuilt them again. Inhale pain, exhale accomplishment… Inhale fear, exhale faith. So now as I stand here crouched in the ready position, fingers barely touching the asphalt, back perfectly arched and knees bent to its proper position, my heart begins beating outside of its chest. It’s all I can focus on now; not the millions of people screaming or the sounds of air horns constantly whaling, or the sights of thousands of fireworks spraying white lightning into the sky like hundreds of rockets being set off upside down. Instead there’s just the rhythmic chanting of my heart, hypnotizing my mind and drawing every ounce of my bodies attention to the road in front of me. Inhale panic, exhale gasoline.
I catch the ease of the wind like a gentle hand brushing the sweat from my brow. I’m not calm, but I’m not anxious either, I’m just poised… and ready. The crowd grows ever silent as the gun is drawn. I lift my head and look straight forward. The final romance between this body of mine and this body of earth has alas entered its final stage. The requiem of love and war has prepared me for this very struggle, this very challenge that stands before me. Endless and beautiful ………………………………………. BANG!
