Olympic Dreams Dashed

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In a couple of weeks the 2012 Summer Olympics will be kicking off in London and I am very excited! I love the Olympics! I know that many do not because some of the sports are more obscure and the average sports fan does not have a strong point of reference. Also, some of the names are hard to pronounce. And then there is the scheduling of the competition which is usually at an inconvenient time when the Games are played on the other side of the world- times zones, ugh!

But I really enjoy Olympic competition! I look forward to it! When one Olympic games is over I start looking forward to the next one four years later. (I wish I could say the same for politics.)

What I might look like on long-term Steroid use

One of the things I love about the Olympics are the story lines of the athletes and how they became the best in their country chosen to compete against the best competitors in the world. I also love underdog stories. I love hearing about the sacrifices so many athletes make in order to compete. I love the drama when Olympic competitors make connections with other athletes from around the world and friendships are formed, despite the foreign policies those nations may follow. That is what the Olympics are supposed to be about aren't they? Humanity at it's best always brings an interesting, if not inspiring, storyline!

I came across this article by NBC called 10 Olympic story lines to watch in London.

Whenever I watch the Olympics or think about the athletes, I am reminded of what to me is one of the most challenging verses in Scripture:

"Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. ²⁶ So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. ²⁷ I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified" 1 Corinthians 9 NLT.

As a person who resumed running a year ago, in order to keep my weight off and my health strong, I can tell you that there are many days I can relate to the Apostle Paul when he talked about "training [his body] to do what it should." My body never enjoys those first 30 strides when I start to run. (When I first started running it was the first 3,000!) But I persevere. Even on the days I don't "feel" like it! The more I discipline my body to do what it needs to do, even though it doesn't want to do it, the more enjoyable experiences I have doing what it needs to do and it wants to do it!

Thirty-six years ago I was watching the summer Olympics while staying at my Grandparents' farm - which is now my parents' home - on a dead end country road in rural Muscatine county. It was the summer before my fifth grade year and as I watched the athletes compete, something was stirred inside me that made me want to be just like them. I took off my work boots and my coveralls and put on my shorts and tennis shoes. I started running up and down the gravel road. I ran and ran.

Forrest Gump running across the country

Forrest Gump would have been proud. My grandmother, not-so-much. She thought I had gone crazy. She tried everything she could to get me out of the hot summer sun. But I saw the athletes stand on the podium wearing their medals as the national anthem of their homeland played, and I wanted to someday win a medal for the good old United States of America.

(By the way, if you would like to know how far and where Forrest Gump actually ran, I found great documentation at this website.)
I knew that if I was going to succeed I could not let others discourage me. I ran and ran. I started going out for sports. In the back of my mind, I have never forgotten that dream. And every four years that memory is rekindled.

Unfortunately, I will be required to miss another Olympic opportunity. Last week my eyes started swelling and itching. At first I thought I just had a mosquito bite. I thought one got me under the eye on Sunday morning while I was walking the dogs before church. By Sunday night that eye was swelling and the skin under my other eye had started to balloon as well. Long story short, I ended up in Urgent Care and then at Walgreen's to pick up my prescription - another round of Prednisone. I have taken Prednizone for poison ivy type reactions almost every summer of my life. The doctor did not know if that is what my eye ailment was caused by but she said it would be a good first step.

The worst part of this news is that Prednisone is a steroid which means I cannot participate in the Olympics. I would fail the drug test. So instead of causing national embarrassment due to my eventual disqualification and media ridicule, I will not be making the trip to London to compete in the Olympic games this year.

Once again, I will try to catch as much of the action and drama on television and will continue training and dreaming about the 2016 Olympics!

You Are Loved!