If  I had made one wrong turn, I would have missed it.  If I made 3 cups of coffee for my thermos instead of two or put $41 into my empty gas tank instead $40, I would have been too late.  But I didn’t,  I made it, barely….

I arrived at the Southern Pacific Masters Regional Championships on Friday with just enough time to dash behind the bleachers, do a quick towel change, unknowingly put my speedo on inside out and get to starting blocks with about 5 seconds to spare before the gun went off.

I raced my 200 IM without any warm-up ( I generally don’t recommend that) and earned a point or 2 towards my team’s elusive quest for a regional title, which was the only reason I signed up for the 200 IM.

I left Long Beach this morning and after about 20 events, with one day of swimming to go, our team was up by 1 point. Pehaps the one point I earned in the 200IM. With 35 years of racing experience I know how close the margin can be between winning and losing.  A second here, one step to early or too late, take your eye off the ball and everything changes. Like walking on the edge of razor.

The same is true in the rest of our life as well.  The difference between success and failure (though both impostors) is in every choice we make, little or big.  The victory tomorrow comes from the set backs, challenges and hard work done yesterday, last week and last year.

It would have been ok if missed the race, the next days races were my priority from the start but I’m glad I didn’t.  And wether we end up winning or losing by 1 point or 100 points, I’m thankful for the reminder I received from my little dance with fate.

Train Smart and Have Fun,

Coach Cris