The 24 Heures du Mans looms! I rue that I have been unable to devote as much time to building up "hype" & anticipation for that most magnificent of days here at The Secret Base as I would have liked, but I've got lots of balls in the air, including a hairy furball that I quite simply hadn't expected. (More on that later in a Project PANDORA [!] post.) The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a grueling test of man & machine, & not just for the competitors. The effort I put forth is nothing compared to theirs, but unlike most of the competing drivers, mechanics, & engineers, I don't actually get any sleep during the race. The need to, simply to be able to perform at anything approaching their best; I have slept in the past & found that I do not want to miss a single minute of the "Grand Prix of Endurance," no matter how taxing enduring might be.
Two years ago, in imitation of many of the fans who attend the race & camp on & the grounds of the Circuit de la Sarthe, I drank a lot of beer, never enough to be drunk, but too much for how sleep-deprived I was & how dehydrating all the beer was; I shan't be doing that again. Last year, I overindulged on Red Bull & found the over-stimulation to be itself a powerful source of fatigue & physical exhaustion; I also shan't be doing that again. This year, I'm focusing on hydration & solid fuel: I'll be drinking water as my principal beverage, supplemented at strictly limited intervals with Red Bull, & eating two frozen Newman's Own pizzas over the course of the twenty-four hours. Over the last couple months I've cut myself down from three meals a day (plus snacks) to two meals a day (plus snacks, though this is curiously helping me snack less), but the endurance required for Le Mans will require an increase in caloric intake. When burning more fuel, more fuel is required.
The race will run from 3:00 P.M. Saturday to 3:00 P.M. Sunday, local time in France, which is 9:00 A.M. Saturday to 9:00 A.M. Sunday in sacred Michigan. I'm scheduled to read at the nine o'clock Mass on Sunday morning. I would have found a sub, but this Sunday is Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ. I'm a Eucharistic fellow & wouldn't miss reading on Corpus Christi for love or money. I'm going to be out of my head with exhaustion! Woo hoo!
Bonus! Song of the Day
Fastball, "Out of My Head" from All the Pain Money Can Buy (The Last Angry Man)
Commentary:
"Was I out of my head? Was I out of my mind?
How could I have ever been so blind?
I was waiting for an indication,
It was hard to find…
"Was I out of my head? Was I out of my mind?
How could I have ever been so blind?
I was waiting for an invitation,
It was hard to find.
"Don't matter what I say, only what I do,
I never mean to do bad things to you,
So quiet, but I finally woke up,
If you're sad, then it's time you spoke up, too."
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