Olympic inspiration
Cue up the music. Roll the film. Panoramic vistas of rugged mountain peaks. A visual montage of athletes flipping and spinning, intensity at the start and fall-on-the-ground exhausted by the finish, smiling and devastated, victorious and defeated. I can't seem to get enough of this stuff. All of it. The good and the bad. The beautiful and the ugly. The games conducted under those five interwoven rings get me every time. I can't remember a time when I did not feel the pull of competition, the appeal of running fast, the joy of pounding the ball into the ground. I had grand plans to make it to the Olympics in a variety of sports. (Please don't laugh.) The pathway to achieve them began with handsprings over the couch during commercial breaks while watching the summer games. Even my elementary gym teacher, Mr. Stranges, told me he was sure he would see me compete one day on the Olympic stage. I never, ever forgot that. 2003 Jungle Marathon, Brazil (Kappes Adventure...
