Cookin' with Gas in Pittsburgh

As I settle down in a rocking chair smelling breakfast cooking out the window over here in Marietta, Ohio at a bed & breakfast with Roddy and our crew, it allows me to reflect on last weekend's race in Pittsburgh.
Long ago- way before Roddy decided to get back into racing he told me over dinner about a special race called the Three Rivers Regatta. It was an important race to him because in the past he never won it. He came so close- on the last lap he ran out of gas and watched as boats passed him for the win. Over and over that race would play in his head. After all the cancer treatments and thoughts of getting back into racing no memory stood out more than that one it seemed.
As a wife, I was extremely nervous for this race. Not for the danger really, just the disappointment if he were to lose. I wanted him to win that race so that we could erase the "run out of gas" memory and replace it with a successful win. That's just what Roddy did. He prepared his recipe for success: balance and focus. This may sound crazy but we both started visualizing him winning the race and we allowed no negative thoughts about any other outcome except total success. Since November Roddy had been doing 2 a day workouts with myself and his other trainer, Brannon Gilliam. He also received regular massage therapy, acupuncture as well as a nutrition plan to help him focus his mind and balance his work and race life.
On the morning of his race at breakfast Roddy and his crew were talking about the water being 'chewy' and described the turns as 'slop'. I thought we were talking about the stale pastries at the Microtel, but nope- all racing talk,specifically the Pittsburgh water, which was known to be rough...silly me. Throughout the race day, none of that seemed to matter we saw things fall into place.
After the race he told me as he was doing his checkered flag parade ride, "It felt surreal, I did it". As we watched the 4th of July fireworks from the best seat in the house, the casino restaurant, we lifted our glasses to celebrate. I couldn't help but think of how lucky we were to be living in this moment we created.