An 'aha' moment at Circuit of The Americas.

Southeast of Austin, Texas lays ~3.5 miles of motor track, home to F1 racing, they call it 'Circuit of the Americas' or 'Cota'. This was originally built for racing, but available to other events in mind, i.e. Willie Nelson's 4th of July picnic. Opened in 2012, I had no desire to visit this site until a local bicycle racing organization started up an even that would open the track to any cyclist with a helmet. Every Tuesday in the warmer months cyclists would gather to ride the track "backwards" and gather in the pit area, no cars, all bikes.

F1 racing usually happens in October. This two weekend event is usually accompanied by famous music Headliners. Tickets are available from one-day standing only to RVs that park for the whole two weeks to elite fans who fly in on their own planes. One year a teammate of mine, who I looked up to had last minute invited me to join her in her company's box. This rainy day provided nearly the whole facility to us and very few others.

Since my first taste of motor vehicle racing I had no interest. "What a waste of gas," I would say, a dangerous and "pointless" sport would never hold me interested. Then, shortly after I started to drive, a friend opened my world to figure 8 racing and demolition derby. This was fun, but clearly not like the annoying NASCAR. I accepted the invite because of my uncontrollable nature to adventure where I have never been before. 'Don't knock it 'til you try it' has landed me in some interesting experiences. My trip to COTA certainly ranks at the top.

If you go to the F1 races to only watch the vehicles on the track, you have a lot of time to sit and wait until you see the next car/race. So, the facility provided some fun interactives for the public, one of them being a chance to show off your pit skills by timing your speed in changing the wheels of a real (out of use) F1 car. That was fun to watch, but not something the two of us were interested in trying. Moving on, as we came across an "immersive experience", literally two unmarked cargo shipping containers with a door that some cute guy invited us to walk into. We found ourselves in a tryout, 'Could you be the next race car hero?' or something like that. This experience started out by taking your height and weight which I immediately failed, like, before even measuring, the attendant said I was too tall. My friend and I never stopped laughing at this point. They still took my height and weight, and we proceeded to hop on some stationary bikes. My friend and I were hot amidst garage training with the team, so we knew we would pass with this test. Turns out it wasn't what we thought, it was a test of control of heart rate, which we actually still excelled in. They measured the circumference of our necks, we failed, too skinny. What woman doesn't want to hear that they are too skinny for something? We called that a win. The next station in this immersive experience had a table with 4 helmets fixed to poles that allowed them to be lifted at different resistances. The first helmet is the natural weight of the helmet, as you would feel if you lifted it to put it on. The next helmet was the g-force weight of the warm up lap, significantly heavier, the third helmet was the g-force weight of the average race pace. The 4th helmet was the g-force weight of some of the fastest speeds in racing, this one i could barely lift four inches off the table.

That was the mind-blowing moment for me. I have no recollection of anything past that moment because I was stuck on the idea that these racers are controlling that weight with their necks!

The only "true" sport that I knew of to really test and challenge the neck was wrestling. Competitors applying force and weight on each other to pin the others shoulders to the mat, the head can find itself in various uncomfortable positions.

However, racing, this sport I now clearly see as endurance broke me down. I started to think, "What other activities could be considered endurance sports?", "What else am I not seeing?" I'm not lying when I tell you I had this 'aha' moment, a moment that my world shattered. I needed some time to recover from this experience. I rebuilt how I saw the body and how people use it. I knew that people who sat for extended hours needed bodywork, but I never knew how to bridge this idea to Athletes and their maintenance and recovery. Here it was.

I'm laughing as I write this, because I can imagine someone asking me, "So my couch potato brother is exactly like the race car drivers?" I would say, more than not. Both events require extended time in one position and can leave the person sore or in discomfort. Not to encourage the 'couch potato' lifestyle, though. I would rather know I was sore and uncomfortable from an event that I tried my best than to not really know why I'm sore and uncomfortable from sitting on the couch for hours.

Which inspires another lengthy read....