Love me some motivation!

I love me some motivation! I think NBC really offers the hands-down best sports coverage of all networks, and my most favorite things to watch and hopefully some day witness in person, are the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and the Summer Olympics!!! I am really looking forward to later this summer and spending all hours of the days watching the Summer Olympics!  I love watching beach volleyball, swimming and gymnastics, but I equally enjoy all of the athlete stories in between the games and races. They always provide me with an opportunity to shed a tear and be proud of this awesome country. Here are some pictures Ethan and I took while visiting Olympic Park in Beijing the year after the Summer Games. And I made this video montage for my students of the 2008 athletes, but I somehow deleted that along with all my school files totalling 5 years. It's ok, I don't see myself going back anytime soon....

 The Bird's Nest



The Swimming Cube

One thing I can add to the list is what I just finished watching  - the Olympic Marathon Trials that took place on Saturday in Houston. I am currently getting back into my running regimen, and what better way to be encouraged than to watch these awesome athletes race after thousands of hours and miles training to be a part of our awesome American team. When I ran my half-marathon in 2009, I had a goal of finishing under 2 hours. I am hoping to be able to redeem myself from missing my goal by 14 seconds....yup, you heard me....I finished in 2 hours, 0 minutes and 14 seconds. I'm not sure when I can find the time to log in enough miles to beat that, but my goal is to run about 3 miles three times a week. And with our unusually mild weather, it's been easy to head out the door with the jogging stroller after Olivia's nap. I've finally gotten back into lifting since Ethan got me some dumbells for Christmas. I don't see myself registering for a half or triathlon anytime soon, but I'm hoping to continue with my fitness goals well into 2012...wish me luck!