Saying what needs to be said

Bless that Bobbi Watt. She’ll do it with kindness, but she’ll say exactly what needs to be said.

At the indoor BMX the other day, I did a ton of practice with Petr Hanak. Petr is too humble to say this, so I will: He was the Czech national BMX champion back when Mikal Prokop was still coming up, and last year he won the overall MSC pro gravity title. Petr is very good at bike riding.

Before the race we practiced starts. We raced to the first turn, first one to win 10 takes the title; the other guy has to man up and talk to this one MILF. The score wound up 10-2 in Petr’s favor, but I was pretty close and getting better all the time.

After the race, we sparred. (I taught him that word.) He’d let me leave the gate then try to catch me by the third straight. I was getting a good first straight, but he consistently outpowered me on the second straight. It was very impressive.

On the way home I was telling Bobbi Watt about this. “I feel really strong and fast, but it seems like Petr is making 10 percent more power than me,” I said. “I mean, at this point can I even get 10 percent stronger? Wouldn’t that be really hard to do?”

Bobbi is a certified personal trainer at One Boulder Fitness and a heck of a racer; she knows about these things. She thought for a second then said, “That’s true, it’s really hard for a highly trained athlete to gain 10 percent more power.” She paused. “But you could lose 10 percent of your body weight.”

Ouch! So true.

I realize I eat more than I should — for reasons other than nutrition — but I’m not ready to face those demons.

Just got back from Safeway with two pints of Ben & Jerry’s. Guess I better work on that power.