Welllll...I know I'm a bit late to the party on this one. It's been calling since last Friday :-P But now that we're into the meat and potatoes of the events I enjoy the most (triathlon and marathon....though I'm pretty sure you figured that out!) I realized that it's time to talk about it on the Internets.
Forgive my slacking and my stream of consciousness over the last week in my mundane life while our athletes were representing over in London :-)
Even though I haven't gabbed out it, the hubster and I have been glued to the screen every night, watching the show. From synchronized diving to Michael Phelp's legacy to little Gabby winning the OA gold in gymnastics, I can't tear myself away from watching.
A few highlights (from my perspective):
1. The photo finish of the Women's triathlon on Saturday....holy hell, that was close. I'm understanding of a photo finish for a 100 meter sprint or a touch finish in the pool, but a photo finish for an event that takes just under 2 hours to finish (one of the longer Oly events!). Wow. Just wow. And while I'm not really up and up on the women triathletes from Sweden or Switzerland, I highly admire the talent. Hopefully the men's race tomorrow will be just as exciting....go Kemper and Huerta!
2. The sodden mess that was the women's marathon. Better than the heat from Beijing, but still not the mess I want to sink my sneakers into for 26.2. Obviously the winner didn't mind, setting a new Olympic record. I wish I could run a marathon an hour slower than her 2:23 :-P I wish my girl Kara (Goucher) would have been able to snag a medal, but kudos to her and Flanagan for placing 11 and 10, respectively.
3. I refuse to call them the "fab 5" when I'm still still stuck on Kerry Strug and the Magnificent 7 from 1996 (god, I'm getting old), but watching the women's gymnastics was awesome this year, even if they do look 12 in my opinion. Some of those beam routines just took my breath away. And even though I am the last one to judge...the women really swept the men under the rug. Sorry, guys.
4. Hurdles. I've never really got into the track stuff before, but the huz is obsessed (he was all state in high school). 400 hurdles in a (much) faster time than I could run 400 flat out? Impressive! And how about Bolt's new record? Wowza. I'm always in awe of the longer distances (averaging 5 minute miles for a marathon= impressive) but the speedy sets were pretty darn neat to watch.
Of course, lest this post be way too "normal", I'd also like to express some of my confusion with the games....namely, of course, in terms of fashion (which I am a sad victim of).
Some things I just "don't get".....
1. Why do the women sprinters wear necklaces? Don't they get in the way? If I was out to run a sub 11 second 100 meter, you can bet I'd take off my chains....especially when they wear briefs and skin tight singlets to be more aerodynamic. Eh?
2. The swimmers-why do they wear two swim caps? I know that if you're doing IMCDA, you wear two because the water is about 50 degrees and it's a good idea not to freeze. But, really? For a 100 yard race? Explain, pls. (No really. If you know, I want to :-))
3. Women's Beach Volleyball. Okay, fine. I'm sure I know this already. But I'll still ask. Someone explain these bitty, wedgie inducing bikinis to me. Kerri Walsh and Misty Mae Traynor are super cut, but even they look uncomfortable in them. And really, who wants to worry about butt coverage when you're after the gold?
4. And of course, Ryan Lochte's grill. No. I can't even. Listen, I was on the Lochte bandwagon for quite some time, especially since I can't get over my loathing of Michael Phelps. But, nope, I can't anymore. Are all the male swimmers from the US just D-Bags? Need more convincing? Check this out. Don't drink your coffee while you do-I warned you.
So, I guess they were all clothes based. Man, am I a shallow Hal or what? :-P But don't tell me that some of these thoughts haven't crossed your mind!
6 days left of the greatness....next up, the Men's Triathlon! Go USA!!!
Forgive my slacking and my stream of consciousness over the last week in my mundane life while our athletes were representing over in London :-)
Even though I haven't gabbed out it, the hubster and I have been glued to the screen every night, watching the show. From synchronized diving to Michael Phelp's legacy to little Gabby winning the OA gold in gymnastics, I can't tear myself away from watching.
A few highlights (from my perspective):
 |
| Source |
2. The sodden mess that was the women's marathon. Better than the heat from Beijing, but still not the mess I want to sink my sneakers into for 26.2. Obviously the winner didn't mind, setting a new Olympic record. I wish I could run a marathon an hour slower than her 2:23 :-P I wish my girl Kara (Goucher) would have been able to snag a medal, but kudos to her and Flanagan for placing 11 and 10, respectively.
3. I refuse to call them the "fab 5" when I'm still still stuck on Kerry Strug and the Magnificent 7 from 1996 (god, I'm getting old), but watching the women's gymnastics was awesome this year, even if they do look 12 in my opinion. Some of those beam routines just took my breath away. And even though I am the last one to judge...the women really swept the men under the rug. Sorry, guys.
4. Hurdles. I've never really got into the track stuff before, but the huz is obsessed (he was all state in high school). 400 hurdles in a (much) faster time than I could run 400 flat out? Impressive! And how about Bolt's new record? Wowza. I'm always in awe of the longer distances (averaging 5 minute miles for a marathon= impressive) but the speedy sets were pretty darn neat to watch.
Of course, lest this post be way too "normal", I'd also like to express some of my confusion with the games....namely, of course, in terms of fashion (which I am a sad victim of).
Some things I just "don't get".....
1. Why do the women sprinters wear necklaces? Don't they get in the way? If I was out to run a sub 11 second 100 meter, you can bet I'd take off my chains....especially when they wear briefs and skin tight singlets to be more aerodynamic. Eh?
2. The swimmers-why do they wear two swim caps? I know that if you're doing IMCDA, you wear two because the water is about 50 degrees and it's a good idea not to freeze. But, really? For a 100 yard race? Explain, pls. (No really. If you know, I want to :-))
3. Women's Beach Volleyball. Okay, fine. I'm sure I know this already. But I'll still ask. Someone explain these bitty, wedgie inducing bikinis to me. Kerri Walsh and Misty Mae Traynor are super cut, but even they look uncomfortable in them. And really, who wants to worry about butt coverage when you're after the gold?
 |
| Source |
So, I guess they were all clothes based. Man, am I a shallow Hal or what? :-P But don't tell me that some of these thoughts haven't crossed your mind!
6 days left of the greatness....next up, the Men's Triathlon! Go USA!!!
Ugh, I wrote/feel the same way about Lochte. Are you serious with that thing? I think he goes out of his way to be douchey...at least he's good at it.
ReplyDeleteOh and NO team will ever beat the 1996 Gymnastics team, I agree! Strug did a gold winning vault with like a broken foot...complete and utter bad ass-ery!
Hey Rae, we are enjoying the events here as well! Such awesome athletes.
ReplyDeleteAbout the swim caps, they wear two because the second one holds the goggles in place. I heard them say it :)
Thank you! I dont think I'll try that at the pool....Im still trying to master flip turns :-P
Delete