It was the summer of 1984 and the Olympics were being held in sunny L.A. I was half a world away, firmly planted in front of the TV, completely mesmerized by the track events. Carl Lewis was busy being super human and inspiring the world with his speed and athleticism. I remember how race after race he would cross the line for first. And then, time after time, he would climb atop the medal stand with the US flag waving, star spangled banner playing, wearing his gold medal.
During commercial breaks, I would beg my mom to come outside and time me as I ran laps around our house. There I was, four years old, lined up on the invisible starting line in front of our house. On my mom's countdown I would shoot off the line with imaginary Carl Lewis just in front of me. As we rounded the corner towards the finish line, I would leave my imaginary competition in the dust and finish breathless, back where I started. At the finish line, my mom would shout out my race time. Each time, heaving with exhaustion, tiny hands on tiny knees, I would shout back, "I can do it faster!"
In true Olympic form, after every race, I would climb up to the top of the stairs on my front porch for the "medal ceremony." At my encouragement, my parents would join me singing the star spangled banner while I stood at attention, hand over heart, imagining the waving flag.
And thus it began; the love for running until my lungs burned, only to want to run again--faster this time. The thrill of dusting the competition on the final corner of the home stretch. The honor of topping the medal stand.
When did you start making fitness a part of your life? When was there a time that you exceeded your own limits and expectations? Can you remember a time you stood on top of the medal stand and felt so incredibly proud of yourself?
Take a minute to remember that life is all about celebrating your successes big and small and remembering what inspires you.
So today, I'd like to thank Carl Lewis for being faster than a speeding bullet. I'd like to thank my parents who always stood up to sing their support. And finally I'd like to tip my hat to genetics. I mean seriously, what four year old runs laps for faster and faster times?! That is definitely genetic.
Hailee, it's ABOUT time you are doing this! You've been inspiring me in fitness, fun, health and education for years.
ReplyDeleteHere's my Olympic story. It was 1980 and I was eight years old. The US was boycotting the Moscow Olympics. I was angry that our athletes were being left at home. As a semi-protest statement, I organized a neighborhood Olympics with events in three disciplines - running, cycling and swimming. I created age categories called "midget" 5-8 year olds, "minors" 8-12 year olds, and "majors" 13-16 year olds. I had 20 participants! Notice that I created the midget division so that I could skunk all the kids younger than me. I think I won 6 gold medals that day by crushing kids 3 years younger than me.
Hailee,
ReplyDeleteLove your story on how you became inspired. I have the image of 'tiny hands on tiny knees' firmly with me.
My inspiration came much later and in the form of Dawn Connor. I had always kept fit, mostly through cycling, but in my first year in university I became friends with a beautiful girl by the name of Dawn Connor. She was also a member of the university women's rowing club (crew). She joked that I would never make it as an oarsman, and partly to prove her wrong, and partly to impress her I joined up. I haven't looked back since. As part of our rowing training we had to go for runs and to my surprise I found I was quite good at it. That was about fifteen years ago and I'm still going strong. And I'd say your blog is going to keep me going another fifteen!
John and Ed- your stories inspire ME! I love it. Keep it up!
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