Saturday, October 31, 2009

Colorado Springs - the US Olympic Complex




This update is being written from the US Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs. I just ate the breakfast of champions with America's champions. Wheaties at the Olympic training compound. Epic. If I don't go on the best bike ride of my life today I'm going to be disappointed. It is absolutely perfect outside - about 45 degrees and bluebird. I can see the Rockies from the window here (see photo). My friend Matt Chrabot is hosting me (I'm fairly positive this isn't allowed, so I hope he forgives me for writing about it), and it has been a very pleasant stay. It's invigorating to be surrounded by the amount of focus and dedication that is in the air here. Literally everyone present is completely engrossed in their goals of being an Olympic champion. It's humbling. These are America's finest athletes. They live their respective sports. Matt, for instance, is the reigning US National Triathlon Champion. He's quite inarguably the best triathlete in the country. His dorm is a mini-training compound (within the training compound itself), ripe with equipment, conditioning tools, nutritional necessities - literally every facet of his life can be traced back as relevant to his ultimate goal of being an Olympic champion. This is why he and people like him will succeed. It's inspiring. You need to pare down your life sometimes to realize your potential. Focus. Find your inspiration and throw yourself into it. A lot of people don't even grasp this; even fewer practice it even in part. But I', inspired and encouraged to know that these elite athletes are putting themselves in a position to succeed by virtue of their uncompromising dedication to their craft. I have learned something here today.
Once my breakfast digests, I'm loading up the T-Bird and hopping on the bike for the 8-mile-or-so jaunt to the Garden of the Gods. I'm not going to try and describe this place now; rather, I'll be sure to take some photographs and post them here later tonight or tomorrow. It's a perfect day for a ride and some outdoor photography, so this should be a blast. Before I go I'm throwing a dart at Apollo Ohno's dartboard. I'm at the Olympic Training Complex - these activities are readily available. Thanks, Matt, for the opportunity to spend a day here.

On a serious note, I want to thank Rob in Denver for something. At one of my many moments of bliss yesterday, when he could tell I was just about as happy as I could be, he said "Even though you've never been here, welcome home, Chris". That means a lot to me. And I'm thrilled to be home.

Thank you, Jill, for today's morning coffee. It was fantastic.

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