Morning motivation

After two weeks of daily competition, the 2012 Olympics drew to a close.
But the spark, the enthusiasm, will live on.

The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.

May your days and weeks be inspired...

Torch lighting ceremony, crowd, and inspirational messages at the 1948 London Olympics
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What inspires you?

Meet your (100 year old) US Olympic Team

This photo, from the Library of Congress archives, represents US athletes who competed in the fifth Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden... in 1912!

The black and white photo... athletes wearing suits and hats... lack of females in the picture... all made me wonder what the Games were like 100 years ago.

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Facts about the 1912 Olympics:

• The 1912 games in Stockholm were the first Olympics to include representatives from five continents, and Japan participated in the Games for the first time.
• The course for the cycling road race was the longest (at 199 miles) of any kind at any Olympic Games before or since.
• Olympic officials allowed women to compete in swimming and diving competitions for the first time.
• While women were making progress through sports like gymnastics and swimming, participation was far from even. Out of 2,547 athletes, only 57 women competed in 1912.
• Women were not allowed to participate in most track and field events.
• The photo finish, so newsworthy for its role in the 100 meter dead heat at this year's US Olympic Track and Field trials, was implemented for the first time at the Stockholm Olympics.
• Team USA competed against 28 other nations to win 25 gold, 18 silver, and 19 bronze medals at the 1912 summer games.
• Those gold medals were the last Olympic medals to be made of solid gold.

What Olympic event would you want to medal in (if you could choose any event)?

Weekly roundup: Friday potluck

Welcome to another weekly roundup: the Friday potluck!

Today I'm serving up sports scuttlebutt and booze news, topped off with recommended reading and a quote of the week.

The anti-superhero?

If Alysia Montaño's post-race interview made her my new running hero, Nick Symmonds' interview did just the opposite. Symmonds used his Olympic Trials fame to score a date with Paris Hilton

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(Seriously, Nick, all that fame and all that speed, and you used it for evil?)


Grunts be gone!

The Women's Tennis Association is implementing a grunt-o-meter at tournaments.

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I can't think of another sport that takes its cues from Planet Fitness...

(Sooo many other potential punch-lines! So little time!)


Can't wait 'til happy hour?

Just thinking about a drink can help you relax!

(Try explaining that one to the officer... Sir! I didn't have anything to drink, I was just thinking about drinking!)

Source: humorgasms.com via Serena on Pinterest

On the other side of the relaxation spectrum, just thinking about the price tags on the world's most expensive beers has given me a headache. (Can you imagine the bar tab for a couple of those babies?)

And just because the beers are expensive, doesn't mean you'd want to drink 'em... The world's second most expensive beer is 55 percent alcohol by volume (which is about 10 times higher than the average neighborhood brew) and costs a whopping $765 per bottle... and... (wait for it!)

...those bottles are made of taxidermied animal bodies! Beer served in a dead rodent!

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Seriously. Who would spend money on that???


Recommended reading:

This week's recommendation isn't a book, it's a concept.

Kathryn at Pavement Runner started a program she's calling Pave it Forward. Kathryn's plan is to give away a book that she has read, usually on endurance training, and the recipient agrees to write a review and send the book on to another lucky reader.

I like this idea so much, I might have to imitate her. (Sincerest form of flattery, no?)


Quote of the week:

This week's quote was so good, I had to repeat it.

“The flower is.. to me, means strength with femininity. I think that a lot of people say things like 'you run like a girl.' That doesn't mean that you have to run soft or you have to run dainty. It means that you're strong. We are the givers of life."
Alysia Montaño (after winning the women's 800 meter race to qualify for the 2012 US Olympic team)"

Happy Friday, friends!

Run like a girl (the real Alysia Montaño quote)

The US Olympic Trials have captivated the attention of more than one American. (I can say that with certainty because Hubby + me = 2, which is definitely more than 1.)

In my case, the Trials have given me a new hero in the running world: Alysia Montaño.

In about 45 seconds of post-race interview, after winning the women's 800 to qualify for the 2012 US Olympic team, Montaño summed up everything that "you run like a girl" really means.

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“The flower is.. to me, means strength with femininity. I think that a lot of people say things like 'you run like a girl.' That doesn't mean that you have to run soft or you have to run dainty. It means that you're strong. We are the givers of life."
Alysia Montaño (after winning the women's 800 meter race to qualify for the 2012 US Olympic team)

(For the record, most news agencies have botched the quote. I spent time today transcribing it from the post-race interview video.)

Run-derful Saturday

While I've been sidelined by a headcold most of this week, nothing could keep me from gorging myself on running, with an extra side of running, today!

Note the lack of spectators...

Breakfast: The only thing better than spectating at a 5k/10k/half marathon with friends this morning would have been actually running. (But this is taper weekend for me. 13.1 miles are calling my name next weekend!)

Lunch: 2 mile run. Gorgeous weather. Legs felt great! Unfortunately this should have been 4 miles, but my insides weren't happy about the running (note to self: spicy food at dinner = unpleasant run the next day).

I waddled home with no major digestive disasters, so we'll call that a win.

I'm also a firm believer that since bad runs happen, it's best to get them out of the way before a major race, rather than on race day. So today's failed four miles might be a blessing in disguise?

Dinner: Houston Olympic Marathon Trials.
The time-delayed broadcast kept me off the interwebs for most of the afternoon. Nothing ruins a good sporting event like knowing the score ahead of time! But now I know...

Men's team: Keflezighi, Hall, Abdirahman
Women's team: Flanagan, Davila, Goucher

Perfection for me would have been doing my run while watching the Trials. Sadly I don't own a treadmill (and I wasn't about to hog one at the gym for two full hours) so I did intervals on my stationary bike instead. Yes, my gym equipment is in my living room. My home will never resemble a Pottery Barn catalog. I've made peace with that.

Dessert: I finally read Jamoosh's excellent local reporting on the Trials. (Seriously, how great are the photos he posted?)

The Trials left me wanting to be a better runner.
I want to go out to a track and crank out 800s RIGHT NOW. (Except there's that half marathon thing next weekend... Logic will win out. I promise.)

But after the race, I also wondered: Why so much tripping and elbowing in the men's race? There's a big, wide road out there... why bump into each other?

I'm not naive. Intentional roughing is no stranger to the world of track and field, but with Hall, Keflezighi, and Abdriahman, it seemed accidental. The cameras caught them bumping into one another and then apologizing for it. It didn't seem like cruel strategy, more like stumbling... but it's hard to think of any one of them as a stumbler.

Does anyone have any insight into the bumping?
Who were you rooting for? Were you surprised at any performances (or lack thereof)?