“9 minutes to life” by Brian Steager

9 minutes to life

How much does one think about in that time? While I know everyone has memories they love and some they wish to forget, past time isn’t the time discussed here. I want to bring you to those clusters of minutes that have yet to come, and our plans in those clusters as the minutes tick away from the clock.

There is nothing quite like The Open. It is the Season of seasons. It’s like the week of Christmas for 5 weeks straight. Everyone is excited and happy. The anticipation, along with the hopes that your training bodes well, are prevalent. Good times and celebrations are shared with your box family. Let’s not forget about the humbling moments that help shape your training intentions for the next year. All this makes for a sensational time and season of seasons.

But this still doesn’t speak to the cluster of time in that moment—the time to complete the task using only authorized means. It’s something we each experience slightly differently.  It becomes the focal point for the next several days.

9 minutes to life

It starts to resonate in your thoughts as you prepare and through your body as you train, growing louder until the moment your crowd of peers erupts when the music turns up and you hear “10 seconds!!! 3-2-1… GO!”

As the body begins to move, deafening silence falls upon you as your lungs fill with air. Clank- Clank- Clank. The mind shuts everything out as it focuses on the task at hand. Your body locks down and fires away. At some point all senses come back to the surface for air, just for a moment before you send your body back deeper into the darkness to press its own physiology- striving to achieve your greedy goals.

Quicker than it began, it ends. Immobile and out of breath, you try to comprehend the chaos of those 9 minutes to life. As your reps and times are tallied, distant strangers, grown to become your close family, embrace your effort while checking on your wellness and sharing adoration. Your breath calms and you hear all the voices again. At that moment, there’s no other place you want to be.

I love the open and the places it takes us mentally- as we push into the darkness just to find a brighter light.