Being "in the zone", have you ever experienced this?

umm

I feel like that happens to me, but in a bad way. Like when you're so consumed in your work that it just takes over your life. Not so good.

Once. Played tennis as a teenager. We made it to the competition final. Throughout the season we'd beaten every team except for the one we had to play in the final. I guess that we went into it with no pressure, because nobody, including ourselves, gave us a chance of winning. I played the game of my life. Every shot hit sweet spot of the racket, and landed within a centimetre of where I was aiming. I was a pretty decent player anyway, but this day was sublime. We won!

your body just knows where the "sweet spots" are and you and your chosen tool, become one. It happens rarely but when it does, you remember the day for ever.

Fly fishing is like that too. Being able to land your fly at just the right spot and be able to read the currents so that the fly is presented just right, thats all part of th sport. When I go fly fishing lately, I throw the fish back, (And I used to make fun of catch and release fishing)

catch and release is my preferred method, unless im trying to eat some fish. :O

I hit the zone last night while on my bike again.

It is about mental clarity, heck, even a distracting level of clarity, if that makes any sense.

I was biking up Spruce avenue here in Berkeley, from my house to the top of Grizzly peak - about 1500' gain over a 7 mile stretch. A long slog with a few steep corners.

I had just about hit my limit when I was about 2/3rds of the way up, and was considering stopping, when I started thinking about someone at work I was pissed off at instead of cycling. What started out as a distracting set of thought soon turned into a full-on fantasy of confronting them, re: their shitty paperwork, which I have to spend way too much time cleaning up before filing.

When I came back to reality, I realized that I had picked up a few miles per hour and instead of being tired, I felt a crazy upswell of energy starting at my belly button and rocketing out of the top of my head. Not wanting to pass up on an opportunity, I said '**** it' and really stepped it up. I ended up racing up the hill against a fella in full spandex - 'Team Powerbar,' his jersey proudly proclaimed - with an insane energy that came from some hidden yet powerful internal gear. I didn't win the race to the top, lost my focus right before we got there, but it was without a doubt one of my fastest times ever, if not the fastest time I've ever done.

On the way back down the hill, I usually take Claremont avenue, a much straighter and faster route where bikes can easily hit 40-50 miles an hour. I was so full of positive feeling from my ride up, that I ended up jumping the potholes that I normally carefully plot my route to go around. It was exhilarating, though in retrospect, pretty stupid. That's the zone for ya.

Cycloptichorn

damn u do 50 on a bike?

well anyways, i did somewhere near 30-40 once on the hills in vegas, they start with small hills that lead to huge drops then they end in 2-3 mile long lower grade hill,s and when ur 12 and hit a pothole and fly like 15 feet, you find out why going fast hurts sometimes.

:X