Screw the numbers. And screw the cutoff time. What are they going to do, tackle you and remove you from the road?
I mention the numbers about my l'Etape because I want to impress people in cocktail party conversations, but those measurements have almost nothing to do with my supreme day last year.
l'Etape for me was wonderful because I pushed myself into a place I'd never been before.
If you can achieve such internal heights, the time, a DNF, or your placing don't matter.
Prepare yourself for a day of trying, screw measuring up. I nearly blacked out at least twice on l'Etape, and the most vivid memory of that day was mentally shoving away the swirling bubbles in my peripheral vision.
Live in the moment, suffer well, and focus on the proceedings at hand.
