Shelby Manning (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shelbycobra) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
muserevival2015-08-08 01:52 am
shelbycobra) wrote in muserevival2015-08-08 01:52 am
097.3.3 - diary
Keep Holding On
An IndyCar season is just over five months long. This year we started at the end of March and we'll finish at the end of August. In that duration, there are roughly five designated off weeks. The rest of them are spent traveling from one racetrack to another. My schedule on any given weekend involves not just the race, but qualifying, multiple practices, engineering meetings, media availabilities, and sponsor obligations. The rest of the week is made up of more meetings, garage time, the four sessions a week with my personal trainer, and hopefully some downtime with my fellow drivers or friends. Most of the time, I finish work for the day and I just head home, shower, make dinner, watch NBCSN and then go to sleep.
Like they say, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
I actually like the busy schedule. This isn't just what I do for a living; it's the one thing I've loved since I was five, so sitting in an engineering meeting talking about my car or spending a few hours in the garage helping my crew work on the car is my idea of a good time. When I do have an off week, more often than not I'm watching somebody else's race, whether it's on TV or in person. My whole life's structured around being a racer. Just ask all the guys I never dated in college because I was too busy traveling to run ALMS.
But it definitely does get to me. That's just a fact of life. You can't run full speed at something for five months without getting a little bit tired, physically and mentally. There are mornings where as much as I love my job, I've wanted to just hug my pillow and go back to sleep. I actually forgot my own birthday this year because it fell during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The only way you get through this is taking it one day at a time, finding that extra reserve somewhere deep inside you and telling yourself you can make everything else up in the offseason.
There are two weeks left in the 2015 season. Two weeks until the championship is decided. I have a 42-point lead, which thanks to Sonoma being a double points race isn't safe unless I win this weekend at Pocono. If I can pull it off, I'll be the first person to win both the Indy 500 and the drivers' championship since Dario Franchitti five years ago. Whatever happens, my contract will officially be up for renegotiation. I'm supposed to be looking for a new house when I really don't want to leave my apartment. That's a lot of stuff to think about, and I'll admit that this week I let it all get to me. I mindfucked myself.
It's time to get a grip. I went out earlier this week, had brunch with my dad and ate more French toast than should be humanly possible. Then I put in a session with Peter McCachren, my trainer, and worked it all off. And I left strict instructions that until August 31, no one is allowed to tell me anything about the points standings or my contract. All of that stuff is still out there waiting, but I don't have to think about it. All I have to do is what I've always done. Drive.
--
Shelby Manning Martin
Need For Speed OC
565 words
An IndyCar season is just over five months long. This year we started at the end of March and we'll finish at the end of August. In that duration, there are roughly five designated off weeks. The rest of them are spent traveling from one racetrack to another. My schedule on any given weekend involves not just the race, but qualifying, multiple practices, engineering meetings, media availabilities, and sponsor obligations. The rest of the week is made up of more meetings, garage time, the four sessions a week with my personal trainer, and hopefully some downtime with my fellow drivers or friends. Most of the time, I finish work for the day and I just head home, shower, make dinner, watch NBCSN and then go to sleep.
Like they say, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
I actually like the busy schedule. This isn't just what I do for a living; it's the one thing I've loved since I was five, so sitting in an engineering meeting talking about my car or spending a few hours in the garage helping my crew work on the car is my idea of a good time. When I do have an off week, more often than not I'm watching somebody else's race, whether it's on TV or in person. My whole life's structured around being a racer. Just ask all the guys I never dated in college because I was too busy traveling to run ALMS.
But it definitely does get to me. That's just a fact of life. You can't run full speed at something for five months without getting a little bit tired, physically and mentally. There are mornings where as much as I love my job, I've wanted to just hug my pillow and go back to sleep. I actually forgot my own birthday this year because it fell during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The only way you get through this is taking it one day at a time, finding that extra reserve somewhere deep inside you and telling yourself you can make everything else up in the offseason.
There are two weeks left in the 2015 season. Two weeks until the championship is decided. I have a 42-point lead, which thanks to Sonoma being a double points race isn't safe unless I win this weekend at Pocono. If I can pull it off, I'll be the first person to win both the Indy 500 and the drivers' championship since Dario Franchitti five years ago. Whatever happens, my contract will officially be up for renegotiation. I'm supposed to be looking for a new house when I really don't want to leave my apartment. That's a lot of stuff to think about, and I'll admit that this week I let it all get to me. I mindfucked myself.
It's time to get a grip. I went out earlier this week, had brunch with my dad and ate more French toast than should be humanly possible. Then I put in a session with Peter McCachren, my trainer, and worked it all off. And I left strict instructions that until August 31, no one is allowed to tell me anything about the points standings or my contract. All of that stuff is still out there waiting, but I don't have to think about it. All I have to do is what I've always done. Drive.
--
Shelby Manning Martin
Need For Speed OC
565 words