Olympics - at least it is only every 4 years...

Gee these blogs have fallen a bit behind schedule! I can only blame the Olympics - certainly not training, possibly work - but not really. I was not really into the games as they were rolling around, but they have certainly grown on me this time. In fact I think they have been great! There have been some great performances, some great results, and of course a few disappointments. On the whole I have been pretty stoked with the kiwi's - they have thrown off the chokers shackles and stepped up and shown what a bit of hard work and perseverance can do. As with some most sporting endeavors there are the stand-outs and the disappointments. What I always look for is when an athlete crosses the line, and there is nothing more they could have done to do better. They trained as hard as they could have, and they races as the absolute best they could have. If they look back - there is nothing they would do differently! In my opinion, then that does not matter if you are first or last - that is where you are! That is what the Olympics are about - putting yourself out there and seeing where you stand - and that takes guts! Phelps is amazing - an incredible athlete who found his niche - he is able to totally dedicate himself to train insane amounts, and cope with that training. On top of that he really knows how to win. What ever it takes- what ever he has to endure to get there...
For the kiwi's - you have to feel for Mahe Drysdale- he obviously went as hard as he could, being sick absolutely robbed him of significant performance, and he still comes up with a medal. But four years of hard work to be undone by a bit of deli-belly (or a dodgy roast dog rib in the cafe..). The twins came in a little written off by some, but with the pressure of defending champs - and showed why you NEVER give up until you cross the line. If I was them I don't think I would be wanting to look at that finish photo too often either! On the other side, I thought some of the swimmers under performed - they train pretty hard, but many just don't appear to have that ability to step up on the really big days. Athletes like Beatrice Faumuina annoy me a little - from my perspective (and I am guessing - I don't have the facts), she has the ability to do what she wants, but does not understand what it does take. She has failed to prepare properly, and it also appears she was not prepared for the probably failure. Those giving out the money to support NZ athletes will not be happy with her attitude. I am sure others could have put in a better effort.
One of my swimming companions obviously had Olympic-itus. She was starting her training for the 2012 Olympics at Monday squad. I was not that impressed at all to be fair. After tanning my ass in the first hour of the session, she declared she was now stuffed and that I should lead. No chance - you bought that on yourself, and you can suffer the consequences!! Fortunately I had a relatively quite time the next day, with only a couple of young guys in the lane, and after the first few reps they have burnt themselves out, and you can cope with the session just fine! So managing to knock 3 squad swims out per week, which is OK at the moment. Performance is also OK, nothing spectacular, but a good base to kick on from I think (well - if I need to kick on).
Cycling is OK - although I am finally a bit sick of the rain! Almost to the point that I am not that concerned about getting wet - just to see what riding on the road is like again. A couple of spin classes last week, and lost Saturday (I swear, it just disappeared!). Sunday was raining (again!), and decided a long run (not done at this point) was far more productive than a long ride (which would be 2 hours on the trainer). It was a little later in the afternoon when I left, and decided to go and check some bush tracks I had not been to for a couple of years. Probably not the best plan after 6weeks of relentless rain. It actually went really well, and enjoyed the change. The tracks were pretty similar to last time - although one had gone from a clay mud-put to a reasonable gravel track. So I followed that along for a while - and it was a reasonably long track. Popped out on to a road - no idea where I was, possibly a vague idea of a general vicinity. Then thought to myself - this is a bit darker than expected, there was only one way to go back - but managed to get through the tracks without breaking an ankle on an unseen-due-to-darkness tree root. Overall, almost 2 hours, and it felt reasonably easy and much shorter! All good! Distraction from the task at hand is sometimes good. Nothing too spectacular with the other runs, but they did get done. Just under 5 hours running last week - so a good tick in that box.
This Just in from Ant Ham - he is the one behind Olympian Shane Reid - looking far more relaxed...