I'm as ready as I am--not as ready as I can be or as I should be, but I'm never that ready. There's nothing I can do at this point to make me stronger, faster, or better trained. I'm not exactly at my sharpest, though I'm certainly a heck of a lot healthier than I was at the March NAC. The idea is to keep my butt tucked in and my hand up, to breathe, to keep my footwork light and keep my weight slightly distributed toward the balls of my feet, and not to worry too much if I feel like a cow in the pool. I need to be aware of distance, need to remember to use the soft step when chasing, and need to bail farther when I'm dealing with people who throw themselves at me.
I'm getting in around noon on Monday, which gives me time to get my stuff checked. I also have to buy another lame, a couple of body cords, a weapon, and (probably) a visor mask, and get my trousers stenciled because I can't count on losing enough weight by October to wear my old ones. I have the Vet-50 first thing on Tuesday; although I generally hate the early close of check-in, it's not a big deal on the West Coast because I'll wake up at 5:00 a.m. anyway. There are 21 in that event, which is a respectable number, and some good people to fence, so it should be fun. As I type that, I feel my stomach start griping at me; it's bizarrely reassuring to know that even if my conscious mind is comfortable with all this, the back of my brain is preparing to kill or be killed. I appear to be motivated.
I have Wednesday off. I don't think I'll do any day trips--it's probably better if I just go to the venue and watch the Div II WS and the veteran MS and rest my legs. The Division I-A is on Thursday. It's as small as usual, and if I were motivated I could do well in it. Perhaps I shall attempt to be motivated. However, it's the last day of Summer Nationals and heaven knows what we'll get for referees, plus I suspect a number of the young'uns will care a whole lot more than I do about finishing in the top four. That sounds bizarrely cocky from a person of 56-going-on-57, and I wouldn't begin to say something like that about the Division I, but looking at the names on the registration list for the I-A, I know that given the right path it wouldn't be impossible for me to get to the top four--if I were motivated, if I were in the right frame of mind, if I were physically sharp. Odd, that. There is a silly thread in which people are talking about women peaking early; I don't think I've peaked yet. I started when I was 43, and I'm a heck of a lot better than I was then. Perhaps I'll start slowing down in the next couple of years. I'm slow right now because I weigh about ten pounds more than I want to, but what else is new.
I fly home Friday because I didn't feel like doing a red-eye. This whole thing is going to make another hole in my savings account.
07-05-2008 03:40 PM