Better Safe than Sorry...

The weekend has come and unfortunately gone, but an exciting weekend it was. With the finish of the Olympics, I was in awe the last two weeks of the overall athleticism that is portrayed there. It's amazing to see how determined and incredibly prepared these athletes are. They are so inspiring. One story I followed closely was the story of Lolo Jones. (http://www.runlolorun.com/). Being a hurdler in high school, and coaching the 300 and 100 hurdling events at the high school level, I was into watching the hurdles in the Olympics. I had heard about Lolo during the trials and also during the games, and looked forward to her race. Her form was amazing and her attitude and demeanor was also very pleasant and not overwhelming or outlandish like many track athletes.

It was time for her race and as many of you know she hit the 9th hurdle and couldn't finish in the lead and ended up finishing 7th. Obviously this isn't the race she was hoping for but in the interviews after, she was so controlled and graceful, and I was utterly impressed. She stated facts and said, " If you can't clear all the hurdles, you don't deserve to be the Champion." It was refreshing to see someone with pure intentions and incredible grace under fire. She was so consistent and I just felt for her. Her attitude throughout the race and after the race was so humble and really exemplified a great competitor. She knew she lost and she wasn't blaming the wind, the hurdle, her coaches or her competitors, which is really remarkable.



I remember watching the men's 200, and how the American thought he was 2nd and was dancing around the stadium and holding the American flag. I would be too. Yet the thing that bothered me was when he found out he stepped on the lane line (seriously?! you're at the Olympics!) The camera panned to him, and you could see him mouth, "WHAT!" in shock, and then the celebratory flag that was passed to him was then crumpled up into a ball in his fist. An odd observation, but I was just disappointed in his actions.

So besides the Lolo shoutout, I also had some more exciting things happen this weekend. Out on the long run with my long time running friend Nicole, we had finished our 8 miles and were stretching on the sidewalk because the grass was wet, all of a sudden tons of ambulances were racing by and pulled to a stop literally across the street from where we sat. A Lance (bicylcist, we'll discuss later) had gotten hit by a car and was really injured. It was weird because not even 10 minutes before this had happened, Nicole and I were crossing the street and we knew this car didn't see us, but edged out slowly in front of him anyways, and sure enough, as soon as he edged out, he saw us and slammed on his breaks. I don't know how a driver cannot see a person running, or none the less on a bike, but I guess it was a great reminder to always make sure that the driver makes eye contact with you, or even acknowledges your presence. There are so many times when I know the driver does not see me, or are not paying attention. Better safe then sorry, and I really hope that biker is okay.