So today I just realized that I had successfully (and by successfully, I mean counting all the attempts where I never made a mistake) memorized my 500th deck of cards under 1m30s. I remember in November 2009 I had hit the 1m30s mark for the first time and at the time, it was a huge deal for me. Ronnie White's USA record of memorizing cards was 1m27s (and still is), so I was ecstatic to be even close to his score. Just over a year later, and I have hit that mark or beaten that mark, with no mistakes, 500 times. That's 26,000 cards memorized correctly over the past year! What amazes me the most is that I've been at this for so long now without letting up. I've trained for a lot of things in my life, but there has been nothing other than memory training, that I have trained for this long or this hard.
The USA Memory Championship is coming up in less than 2 months, and although I know the competition will be extremely tough this year, I do know that I have out-trained anyone that will be there. I know there are competitors that have trained hard this time around, but trust me, not like me. I can honestly say that, with out a doubt. Try running a 7 minute mile while memorizing a 300 digit number, then we'll talk ;)
That still doesn't guarantee me to win, but it does guarantee me that I will be competiting to the best of my abilities. If that isn't enough, then so be it. Last year I thought I had it in the bag, and I lost. I thought at that point in time that I had maxed out my memory capabilities. But I lost, and I had to figure out how to make myself better even though I thought I couldn't improve any more. A year later, and after many ups and downs and failed ideas, I have improved every facet of my memory.
So here I am again, hoping to be the best, hoping to be the champion. Will it happen? I don't know. I am confident and well-prepared for every single event at the competition this year, while last year I winged a few and did okay. Will that be the difference? Who knows. Nothing is certain, except for what I do know: that I put as much effort into my training as I could have. If I have one advantage over any of my opponents, it's that I have practiced each event more than anyone...and that has to count for something.
I'll see you at the top!