I LOVE THE OLYMPICS! Summer or winter, it doesn't matter. I am an athlete. I love to participate in sports and watch sports. REAL Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO is one of my favorite shows. I strive to learn new training and competing techniques from "real" athletes who get paid to win in their sports. So watching them compete in the Olympics is a free way to observe greatness.
Other athletes inspire and amaze me when I hear their stories. Their bodies (see the pics and drool) are incredible. From swimmers to gymnasts to soccer players to weightlifters, the physiques are flawless.
Did I forget to mention beach volleyball? Mwah!!! Now, why do the women wear the tiny bikinis halfway in their butt cheeks and the men full-length surf shorts? Hmmm...
I am still in my MWF early morning swim class learning to be a more efficient swimmer. My tri this past Sunday was a 1500m swim, and I PR'd (personal record) it by about 35 seconds from my first tri of that length from last year, which was done in a wetsuit (more buoyant and easier) while last Sunday was just me and a little ole' spandex tri suit. More than 3 minutes better than my non-wetsuit 1500m this past Memorial Day. I'd say that's progress.
I closely watch the women and men swimmers. They have the BEST bodies, long torsos, long arms and feet, long fingers. They glide. The race is won UNDER the water. My coach says pulling water under is your where your speed comes from. The arms out of the water are just to get back to the glide under the water. It has made a lot of sense and I feel more fluid with my stroke now. Not sure I'll ever get much faster because my body is not long anywhere, but at least I FEEL better swimming now.
I was a gynmast when I was young. I absolutely loved flying around the high bar, flipping across the floor, and balancing on the beam. I did it until I was in junior high, then I did cheer and then dance in high school. I was always back-flipping and cartwheeling as a kid. Gymnastics was my favorite sport to watch because those little girls where like me. Mary Lou Retton was a goddess to me at age 10.
I have played competitive volleyball in rec leagues. The game is one of my favorites to play and to coach. Its such a mind-game to cover your court and anticipate the opponents moves. I never played soccer, or basketball,so these sports are not interesting for me to watch. Tennis? Meh. Archery and badminton? Probably not. Cycling, while one of my favorite things to do, does not make for fascinating TV.
I will watch track & field. I run. My pace suggests I should change that word to "jog", but technically I'm running. So watching the track runners hoof it around the track, I'm awestruck. Again long, lean bodies, reaching and going faster. Lolo Jones and Usain Bolt are among these freaks of nature.
So my hat's off to the athletes of these Olympic Games. They are all my heroes. I have a hook full of my amateur medals, so I can appreciate the burning desire for a heavy trinket at the end of a race, telling you you've done well. I cannot imagine what it's like to be there, under the pressure of our country and in the camera's eye, still trying to be your best. Good luck to you all.
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