Jun 26th, 2009 by T.C.
I love racing. And when I say that, I mean I LOVE racing. There aren’t too many things that make me as happy as I am when I’m at the track. I look forward all week to the weekends and getting back to competition. And I know how lucky I am to be able to do something I truly enjoy. But something I’ve learned along the way that I think is an important lesson, is I can’t devote 100% of my time to racing.
Between the weekly commitment it takes from me to be a tire changer and the demands of running this blog, I spend a lot of time with NASCAR on the brain. I sometimes feel like all I do is talk about it, read about it, write about it, and live it. But, as with anything else, too much of a good thing is bad. It becomes very important that I don’t let myself get caught up in the sport on a 24 hour basis. If I did, I would certainly become burned out in a hurry.
I will give you a few examples of some outlets and breaks from racing I personally have.
First, I’ve always been an athletic person. I may not necessarily be a skilled athlete, but I enjoy being active and competing. So one break is to participate in other sports. Since I graduated high school I’ve rarely turned down opportunities to jump into a pickup game with friends or join a rec league.
On top of that, racing isn’t the only sport I’m a fan of. Not only do I like to compete in other sports, but I also enjoy being a spectator. I’ve been to everything from NFL games to Thirsty Thursdays at Kannapolis Intimidators games. I also try and catch as much sports on TV as my time allows.
A third outlet is just enjoying some time with friends and family. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a BBQ or bar hopping. It’s always good to spend time just relaxing and maybe enjoying a few adult beverages with some good company.
The last thing I will mention might be shocking or sound bad to some of you, but it is vitally important to the health and future of this website. Once it’s the weekend, I rarely spend time on the blog. I normally don’t check my email or even open the site up until at least Sunday night (if it’s my turn to post). If Journo is busy, I may jump in and moderate comments, but that is about it. Doing this allows me to not only re-energize, but also focus on the racing.
The NASCAR season is one of the longest in sports. It’s a grueling trip that starts in February and can go on for weeks at a time without many breaks, until November. It’s easy to get caught up in it and forget that sometimes we need to step away and just take a little break.
