Hindsight being what it is, Jayson Austin will wondering for a very long time whether he should have pulled the plug when the electronic timing failed when he was 12 laps into his hour attempt in the 35-40 age group at DGV over the weekend ( and apparently it took a few laps more for them to get him to stop).
He opted to re-start and of course had to start from 0 laps again and while he was ahead of schedule until 45 minutes and still on schedule at 50 minutes, from then on the lights went out and he fell into the abyss and ended up being 3 laps shy of the world record.
What a dilemma. If the timing had failed further in, there would have been no question..it'd be over....no re-start. But 12 laps...to the uninitiated it might seem nothing, 12 laps? pffft! But riding the hour is not just the physical task, although that would also have taken its toll...its also a huge mental task.
Doing the hour is like self flagellation...you KNOW its going to hurt..you expect to be in pain, you may pass out, vomit, lose control of bodily functions, who knows how your body will react...its much, much more than an athletic endeavour...it's a 60 minute torture and you have to wind yourself up mentally to do it. You think that sounds over dramatic?..its not.
I feel for him. In fact it brings tears to the eyes. What a shit thing to happen...what DO you do? Chapeau to him for restarting, refocussing and laying on the line. What guts, what dedication.
He WILL be back and given a clear run WILL get the record.
Well done Jayson!
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2 comments:
Glad to see you wrote something about Jayson's hour attempt as I couldn't find a thing about it on NSW site. Bummer about the timing failure, but good on him for restarting, but oh so close......... I can see you both having another attempt at some stage!
Nothing but respect for anyone who attempts the hour. Sad situation with the timing. Good luck for the next attempt!
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