0.25 Seconds.

That's twenty-five one-hundredths of one second. It's the amount of time it takes lightning to strike. It's shutter speed. And on today's date of Friday the 13th it was the time difference between 1st place and 3rd place at the Elite National Time Trial Championships; and I drew the short stick:

1. Karl Bordine 29:48.27
2. Russ Langley 29:48.35
3. Alvaro Arnal 29:48.51

0.25 seconds. It's starting the kick to the finish line three pedal strokes earlier. It's taking one of the turnarounds just a little bit faster. It's running a little more pressure in the tires; it's running a little less pressure in the tires. It's pinning my numbers a little better. It's ducking the head just a little bit further. I know these seem like trivial things, but with such a small time gap, any one of these would have made up for it.

I finished 3rd, but I'm not happy with it. I came to Nationals to win this year, and 0.25 seconds is enough to haunt me for the rest of the year...

The positives? Well I did finish 3rd at Nationals, and it very easily could have been 1st. I know that I can compete with and beat the best time trialists in the country. I just need to find 0.25 seconds. Maybe next year lightning will strike.