The Olympics

A few days ago (on the 8th of August to be exact), I was extremely cranky. The Opening Ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics were here and I was in Colorado Springs and not in Beijing. Luckily for the people around me, I've gotten over the initial bitterness/ sadness and have instead embraced the Games wholeheartedly.

Living at the Olympic Training Center, it is impossible to avoid the Olypics, as you are constantly bombarded by images of the Games. From the Olympic rings on most of the doors to the tvs endlessly showing NBC to the photos of past Olympians in the hallways, you are ceaselessly reminded of the importance of the Games. If I were still in Boulder sans television and Olympic propaganda, it would be easy to avoid such reminders and to continue along my happy way. By being faced with my disappointment so directly, however, I've been forced to examine how I feel about not making the team.

The more that I watch the Olympics, the more I am aware of the fact that I simply wasn't ready to make the team. While I may have been physically capable of making the team, there was a certain motivational element missing from the process. Olympians make it a dream to represent the US, using their desire to fuel them for years leading up to the Games. A year ago, I simply wanted to make Olympic Trials. A few months ago, I found myself in the position of being on the cusp of making the team. At that point, however, it was too late for me to gain the experience and confidence necessary to become an Olympian. Now that I watch the Games take place, however, I realize that I have four years to both earn a spot on the team and to develop myself into a medal contender.

While I admit that I will watch the triathlon event with a bit of a heavy heart, I am convinced that we have the best team possible representing the US in Beijing (that's not to say that I wouldn't have loved to go!) and look forward to watching our athletes race. Laura Bennett, Sarah Haskins and Julie Ertel are highly accomplished women who will certainly do our country proud. I am also really excited to watch the men (Matt Reed, Hunter Kemper and Jarrod Shoemaker) mix things up. All of these athletes are people I admire as both athletes and people and I count them among my friends. To see them succeed at the Olympics would be almost as good as being there myself! In the meantime, back to training hard and looking forward to 2012!