We have nothing to fear, but fear itself. Also, frostbite.

I was talking with Samantha about the 4th stage of the tour, and I was surprised to hear that she had woken up in the morning already dreading the competition in the evening (As a comparison, I had woken up in the morning simply craving a huge bowl of chocoflakes, because running this hard every night dictates an increased chocolate consumption). 

As a serious runner, Sam is well aware of how hard she needs to push to win a race, and she knew that it was going to hurt, a lot. That pain was what she was afraid of.

Well for me, there was no fear, because this was the one stage I felt confident that I could defeat Boris. But the question remained, would it be enough? I jumped eagerly off the starting line, and happily settled into the race. Soon it became apparent that Niklas was escorting me around the 10 k at Flogsta. He was very courteous, quite the gentleman, even allowing me to go first on the second lap, though like a greedy child he stole back the lead on the tough finishing loop. Some show-off part inside me wanted to impress all the ladies cheering as we came into the finish, and I sped up for one final sprint, which was enough to finish under 38 minutes, but not enough to catch Lutas, Simon, or Niklas. Where was Boris?

I didn't have to wait long, as he finished just two minutes behind. Every victory is sweet, but what I need is a margin! The 5th stage of the tour will favor my hirsute roommate, and I may well find myself waking up with panic in my throat this Saturday, fighting off the ominous dream of being chased by Gorilla through the snow. I will have to rely on my chocoflakes to remind me that there is nothing to fear, but fear itself.