Pushing Yourself to the Limits

I feel as though I have been living my own Olympic event the past 11 days. Valentine's Day was suppose to be a day of love and heartfelt giving and it was my first day of feeling totally awful. I spent the day in bed feeling like I had been literally struck in the heart with an arrow but this arrow was a good case of bronchitis. I made my way to the doctor's office where his first comment was "gee I haven't seen you in a long time".. Which like most is the way you like it unless you are a hypochondriac. I proceed to get my z-pac and codeine cough syrup and today is the first day I have felt actually human again. I guess this is my version of my gold medal getting back to good health.

My path has been fully loaded with way to much on my plate as usual with no end in sight. I guess this was my bodies way of telling me slow down. The one bright spot in this is that I have been able to direct my attention to many of the Olympic events. Being sick made me think of how often athletes compete while being sick. Adrenaline can push you through things you never imagined you could make it through. Plus the desire to put in the best performance possible, no matter what your chosen sport is. Being on autopilot can make you forget how sick one can be and still make it through.

I remember when I was competing with the synchronized team one year I had to compete with a terrible inner ear infection. Thank goodness I had people on each side of me who could keep me standing because I doubt if I would have made it otherwise. A take it for the team attitude can get you through anything.

By the way I hope one year synchronized skating will be a part of the Olympic experience so I can say I was part of the pioneering teams. I guess I can at least be happy that our pictures grace the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs as part of the legacy of skating. We pushed the envelope many times.

The Russian ice dance team made me reflect again on how costumes can push the limits of the sport. They did it in a not so tasteful way but any extra publicity definitely puts you on the mind of the viewing public and judges. Our team did it with top hats and splitting the team in half where half wore black tuxedo coats and the others white dress (I unfortunate got to wear the tuxedo) we ended up winning that year and were the talk of the competition, not unlike the Russians.

I look forward to the finals in ice dancing and the start of the women's skating events in the next week. Another week of pushing the limits and I will have a front row seat.