Lungs

So, I'm a life-long asthmatic.  The only reason I can breathe at all is because someone at Glaxo invented inhaled albuterol in the 1960's.  By the time I was born it was state-of-the-art, and it still is.  As a kid, I spent plenty of time in the hospital hooked up to an i.v., and early on in hockey, I figured I'd better just be a goalie.

Later, I changed my mind and started to do something that would push my lungs as far as they could go, and that was the beginning of bike racing for me.  I have always raced with an inhaler in a special pocket sewn into my skinsuit by my mom.

So, in sprint events, it's not remarkable that I am able to compete on terms with the best riders in the country, because lungs aren't needed.  But when it comes down to it, the only reason I'm riding at all is because of the people at Glaxo.  

Nevertheless, I don't have top-level aerobic talent.  That's always a disappointment to me--and yesterday's scratch race was an example.  I DNF'd the race; there's no worse feeling.  40 laps, and I just didn't have the lungs for it.

So for today's points heat, I had to finish it.  60 laps, all aerobic, average speed well in excess of 33mph.  And I finished.

The thing about track racing is there's no 'honorable finish'. If you drop back more than 250 meters from the field, an official literally blows the whistle on you and pulls you off the track.  It's not like a marathon, straggling across the line eventually.  In order to finish, you need to hang with the leaders the whole way.

So, I didn't take top-8 in the heat.  And I wasn't close.  But for a long race, I did as well as I could have hoped, I suppose.  Thanks to the guy at Glaxo who invented albuterol.

Tomorrow, the Team Sprint.  We have a good team, and we believe we're capable of going top-5.  Total race distance: 750 meters.  No lungs required.