Ah, Anticipation.
It’s an emotion unlike any other. Our expectation of the future. Our dreams of what tomorrow may bring. Our hard work and vision brought to fullness and reality.
In athletics, anticipation can and should be tied into our daily training sessions. We should anticipate good performance and expect to enjoy ourselves.
But today I’m talking about Anticipation with a capital A. That kind that’s tied into our expectation of performance at a particular race. Usually an important race. A big race. One that really matters.
If you’re well prepared, Anticipation is a wondrous time. You’ll be brimming with confidence and eagerness. You can’t wait fast enough. Despite months, and perhaps years, of training and sacrifice, you’re ready to go, and you’re ready to go now! Today! Much like a surfer who’s watched the track of a Category 4 Hurricane for days, you
Just
Can’t
Freakin’
Wait.
Anticipation.
You know what I’m talking about?
I had my bike tuned up yesterday. It’s sparkling clean, pedaling and shifting as smooth as silk on a satin mattress. It’s calling to me right now, begging me to take it out of the garage and just ride, just ride nice and easy through the nearby hills.
Not yet, beautiful, I say.
My arms and legs have an itch. They’re light as feathers and get lighter every day. They tell me they’re ready to run with the Kenyans - nice and easy through oceans of grass under the bright African sun.
Remember that feeling, I tell them.
Anticipation.
I can feel the vibe, the juice, the flow, the spirit, the music, the yin and the yang, the zen and the Zinn, the cosmic quantum fundamentals that lie just below the surface of everything we touch, and they’re whispering, pointing, they’re shouting at me!:
Anticipation.
The big race is right around the corner.
And I Just Can’t Wait.
Marty Gaal - September 2003
*Marty placed 3rd overall at the USAT Age Group Nationals 2 days after he wrote this.