Running with BOTH Legs Forward

I wish I had been able to really watch all of the Olympics, especially the runners.  But when you work during the day and don't have cable, you rarely catch any of it live.

Yesterday I was at the gym running on the treadmill.  The big screen TV had a race about to begin, the 400m race to qualify for the Olympic race.

Oscar Pistorious immediately caught my eye - not in a weird way, though he is kinda cute - but because he has no legs past his knees.  He lost his legs when he was just 11 months old, having been born with no fibulae in his lower legs, and he runs with "Cheetahs," prosthesis blades made from carbon fiber.

This kid blows me away.  He is just 26 years old, and only began running after a rugby injury at the age of 16.

And in 10 years he's become crazy fast.  Some people are born to do things like this!

I heard one reporter saying he told them his mother would call him and his brother and tell his brother "get your shoes on" and tell Oscar "get your legs on."  I love it when people make the abnormal completely normal in their lives.  I think that in itself breeds confidence and future success.

Sheila, Oscar's mother, died when he was 15.  I read this quote she told him that he holds fast to:
"A loser isn’t the person that gets involved and comes last, but it’s the person that doesn’t get involved in the first place. It’s a mentality we’ve always had. When you start something, you do it properly. The passion you start something with, you finish it off with.”

Anyone else feel like they just got slapped upside the head?

I can't tell you what it felt like for me yesterday, watching him run with no legs, and me running on the treadmill not sure I could make 2 miles.

I have not been where I need to be.  Traveling and succumbing to poor food influences and other people's poor choices has taken a toll on me.  I feel for the first time in a few years like I have lost my inner athlete.

And when I watched this guy race with his entire heart and soul, and QUALIFY FOR THE OLYMPICS I thought, what the HECK is wrong with me?

I have everything I could need to be successful.
Intelligence to make good healthy choices.

A supportive family.

A great foundation of weight loss and athletic success.
7/5k races and 2/10k races under my belt.

2 pairs of running shoes.

A TON of running and workout outfits and bondi bands.
A Gym membership.
Tons of supportive friends.

And BOTH LEGS.

What I lack, right now, is the drive that Oscar has and has had for his entire 26 years.



I'm working on channeling that.  I almost cried while I ran with him yesterday.  And I'm in tears just thinking of how it must feel to be him today.

I want that feeling.  I want to cross the finish line of this journey, and know that all of my effort, training and sheer will is what got me there. 

It's already 85 degrees here...but I am lacing up my shoes and heading out for a run.  I haven't run outside in weeks (been running on the treadmill at the gym mostly in the a/c).  It's gonna HURT and be HOT but a little over sweating never killed me...just made me stronger.

And in my mind and heart, sorry USA, I'm cheering for South Africa in the 400m race tomorrow...

Be inspired!

Clara