Wind and stuff

Various things rollin' around in my head....

Natascha Badmann after winning the 2002 Hawaii Ironman in ferocious winds- " I just smiled and opened my wings and flew with the wind"- this on a day when people got blown into the guardrails. Great quote, sums it up. I love the wind , fear the wind,and immersed myself in it this weekend. It's constant and capricious at the same time. It can win you a race if you embrace it and use it, it can wreck your world if you disrespect it. I like the feeling of it boiling around me while I try to make my wide body as narrow as possible and slide through it. It takes a special attitude to deal with, the minute I start to hate it, I know I need to eat something and regroup within myself.
While we are on the subject of Natascha, who has won Kona like 5 times, in every picture she is smiling. As a matter of fact, in tri circles her moniker is The Smile, as in, " awwww shyte,here comes The Smile ". The positive mental focus is unbelievable, but then she is a Winner. I know Winners in bike racing, in business, in life, and on the basketball courts of Oakland and Alameda, they all share that focus and complete belief in themselves and their ability.I like to watch winners and learn from them, the best are willing to share, the insecure or new ones, not as much there to learn anyway.