I closed my eyes and took one last deep breath,

then I took the step forward.

Every part of me felt time stand still, but only for an instant -

what would happen in the next three minutes and thirty seconds?

I stepped through the gate and felt my blade glide across the smooth ice,

as it had a million times before - all to do that program,

probably four other times that day.

But this time was different,

This time it really mattered - this was competition,

This time we could show the judges who we really were.



But we didn't.



The could have is still there,

We could have been National Champions,

We could have skated flawlessly as we had so many times before,

We could have gotten the reward for it,

a shiny gold medal, on a red, white and blue ribbon.

Those three minutes and thirty seconds could have meant the world to us.



But they didn't.



Everything fell apart.

It wasn't the same as it had been a million times before,

Of course not, thing went as planned.



The gold turned to pewter, the smiles turned to tears,

the joy to sorrow, the laughter to heartbreak.

Could we have another chance?

Of course not, that's not how it works.



You get your three minutes and thirty seconds, that's it.

It's all that matters.

You decide your fate.

You separate the strong from the weak, the best from all the rest.