Alas, 2 Weeks Of Sochi Is Almost Over!

Yet another measure of time...

One second, one hour, one day or one week sometimes seem to just morph into a blur. A blur of time rushed past us. A blur that we could really not identify in detail yet we know it happened. We cooked, slept, had arguments, drove the kids to school, shopped while all the time keeping an eye on the Olympics.

For some reason I remember the afternoon of the opening day and what I did then. The other 12 days were a happy yet " I couldn't tell you what or when I watched certain events " time phase. Of course I am a mere armchair Olympian.

The real Olympians can tell us stories of how the last 4 years morphed into one long blur of training for them. When you consider that some of the athletes, not the all-rounders but the one's with only one discipline, train for this single moment of glory for four long, hard and certainly painful training years,you gain a new sense of respect for them.

We might have boogied the night away while they sensibly went to bed early. We ( eh, possibly Bob ) slunk home at the crack of dawn while they were already up and running. We got married, had children took up daring hobbies ( gardening in Bob's & my case! ) which they couldn't in case of injury. With gay abandon we ate sweets, treats and hamburgers while they kept to a strict meal plan. Gosh, I am rather envious of that will power and discipline...

Yesterday was the Men's Slalom. A two stage / run race. Each stage takes only about 50 seconds of the athlete's time & effort. Imagine, training for 4 years to do a run that lasts only 2 min...What if the day of your race you aren't feeling great? Or have a touch of flu? Or had a fight with your spouse? Or the weather isn't nice for your discipline?

Yes, in between the Olympics, the athletes compete in other events and leagues but if you ask most of them, they will admit that the Olympic medal is what they all secretly dream of earning. It is the prestige of this elusive Olympic medal / metal!

A few times in my Olympic blur I reminded myself of the fact that even those who came last in certain races and categories, are the best in the world. A minor league athlete won't even crack the nod to wax a ski yet alone wear it! A few of you might have wondered:

' Why do they bother if they don't have a snowball's chance in hell to win? '

but don't forget that any race needs more than the top 3 contenders.

For one, nobody would watch a 3 man race and it wouldn't be much fun for the athletes to shine and show the results of their hard training. Oh, and the most exciting fact of all... now and again an old / forgotten / written-off athlete outshines the favourites with pizzazz, aplomb and a best-time!

Olympians, thank you so much. It was simply divine being able to watch your triumphs and even defeats. Thank You.

Biggi