Olympic Fever!
I have a really specific strain of Olympic Fever.
I'm not all flushed and crazy and anxious at EVERY single event; I mean, I played field hockey in high school for a semester (for reals), but it doesn't make my heart palpitate or cause any shortness of breath.
But there is one category of event that makes me more than a little wild: The sprints.
Yep, I’ve got early warning signs of Sprinter Worship Syndrome. Have you seen these heats? Such crazy speeds! My favourite race so far was Usain Bolt's second 100m heat on the morning of Friday, August 15th - the one BEFORE he grabbed the gold.
After 50 metres of lightning bolt action, he casually looked to his left and right, saw that he was destroying the competition, and coolly relaxed his pace to what can only be described as “a casual jog”.
Oh, and he still won that heat with a time of 9.92 seconds.
The Olympics are always a sure bet for inspiration, but I love that Bolt brought a little swagger to the Games. It looked like he was, well, having some fun.
And that’s something to remember when you’re running the Human Race in a couple weeks. Get out there and go for a personal best, absolutely – but don’t forget to look to your left and right every once in a while and enjoy the race.
Even if you’re not a 6’5” sprinting machine.
I'm not all flushed and crazy and anxious at EVERY single event; I mean, I played field hockey in high school for a semester (for reals), but it doesn't make my heart palpitate or cause any shortness of breath.
But there is one category of event that makes me more than a little wild: The sprints.
Yep, I’ve got early warning signs of Sprinter Worship Syndrome. Have you seen these heats? Such crazy speeds! My favourite race so far was Usain Bolt's second 100m heat on the morning of Friday, August 15th - the one BEFORE he grabbed the gold.
After 50 metres of lightning bolt action, he casually looked to his left and right, saw that he was destroying the competition, and coolly relaxed his pace to what can only be described as “a casual jog”.
Oh, and he still won that heat with a time of 9.92 seconds.
The Olympics are always a sure bet for inspiration, but I love that Bolt brought a little swagger to the Games. It looked like he was, well, having some fun.
And that’s something to remember when you’re running the Human Race in a couple weeks. Get out there and go for a personal best, absolutely – but don’t forget to look to your left and right every once in a while and enjoy the race.
Even if you’re not a 6’5” sprinting machine.
