Is it too late to run at 10:42pm?

I'm watching the 2010 Olympics opening ceremony (DVRed to avoid commercials) and I'm already feeling inspired.

For me the Olympics are about celebrating the accomplishments of our greatest athletes, people who dedicate their lives to achieving personal glory often without any fame.

They are the people who work day in and day out to break down their bodies and build them back up even stronger.

They are the people who suffer through grueling workouts and extreme physical and emotional pains that would bring the toughest men to their knees.

They are the people whose names we do not know, yet we admire for all they have made themselves to be.

We learned today that 21 year old, Georgian luger died on the ice in a horrific accident during a practice run, just hours before tonight's opening ceremony. The ceremony is now dedicated to this once promising and beloved young man, Nodar Kumaritashvil, whose name we probably would have never known otherwise.

I will never be an Olympian - not even remotely close to one. I can't imagine what it's like to train full time or run 150-200 miles a week. I only know what it's like to be a decent endurance athlete. I know how much work is required achieve my personal best, which is a mere jog by elite standards. I run alone, in the dark early morning hours, in the dark after 10 hour work days, in the snow, on the ice, through the pouring rain, in the humid heat... No one sees that. No one feels it. It's just me out there pushing myself to my limits and finding new ones in the process.

I'm not only inspired by all that the Olympians will do during the next two weeks. I admire them for all they've done over the past 2, 4, 10 years. I just hope they feel that through the HD.

It's a long road. They're out there on it. And now I can't wait to get on mine.


P.S. Just heard a great quote: "Making the Olympics is like crossing the Saraha desert, getting to the end and getting a very cold drink and a lovely cold shower."
- Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, "The Snow Leopard" of Ghana, the country's first winter Olympian, who learned to ski indoors after taking on a job as a receptionist at a ski center.

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