Beaten by the girl I used to babysit !!

What a fabulous day! This was turning out to be one of my best races in several years. I was relaxed, calm, confident; had a solid game plan as well as a smooth, effective and energy-saving technique (any similarity to any paragraphs in the post here below is purely coincidental). I was a happy, happy man when I crossed the finish line after 30 km of cross country skiing yesterday. But it all changed quickly, as I was walking towards the small booth to pick up my dry-clothes-bag. 

Suddenly, I saw a familiar face. I hadn’t seen her for a few years, but she was the spitting image of her mom.  Our conversation went like this (I won’t write her words, you will be able to figure them out):

Me:      Hi, is it ...  Is it really you?

She:      ...

Me:      Wow, I haven’t seen you for a long time. You must be what, twelve years old now, right?

She:      ...

Me:      Pardon me? Really? You are 28 already? Ehh, you’ve probably forgotten me then, but I used to live next door to your parents. Our moms used to make me babysit you. Are you sure you’re 28? How time flies. I tried to teach you to play basketball; you told me you wanted to be a pilot.

She:      ...

Me:      Oh really, you are a commercial pilot now! Good for you! ...So, you were skiing here today? Did you do one of the short distances?

She:      ...

Me:      Oh, you did the full 30 km?  But you’ve already changed your clothes, did you break the race? No shame in that, you need to train really hard ...

She:      ...

Me:      Oh really? So you did finish the race? Just over 30 minutes ago? Great! Listen, it was really nice seeing you, but I need to put some dry clothes on. Say hello to your folks, bye!

What a dreadful day! This was one of the lowest points of my career.  I had just lost to the baby girl I used to babysit when I was a teenager. And I hadn’t just lost to her; I lost by half an hour. Just over half an hour, actually.

I feel old, weak and tired.