Olympic weekend

I have to admit, I spent a lot of hours watching the Olympics this weekend. Yup, I was a patriotic, flag-waving, athlete-cheering couch potato. I love the Olympics and celebrating the individuals who work so hard to become among the top in the world. Go Canada go!

Yet, it's not the only thing I did over the three-day weekend. We visited a friend in Oakville overnight where we caught up, ate great food, sipped some lovely Cabernet Savignon and, you guessed it, watched the Olympics.

We also went for a long walk in a forest with the kids and dogs. During this excursion I found out that unlike bumbles, I don't bounce. To trek along the creek at the bottom of a large valley, we had to make our way down a steep embankment full of trees and snow-covered dead leaves. I gingerly picked my way from tree to tree in an attempt to prevent an all-out slide down the side of the hill.

It wasn't until I was mid-flight, hurtling between trunks that I realized the tree to which I was heading was dead. Upon impact, it promptly broke. I must have done a spectacular somersault through the air before landing on my back. Luckily, my survival instincts kicked in, so I tucked my head and absorbed a good portion of the impact on my left shoulder before my spread eagle on the ground.

Luckily, no broken stumps or large rocks occupied my landing space, so I only had the wind knocked out of me. I also have a few more aches, pains and bruises than I did last week. But overall, it could have been far worse.

During the hike, I grew frustrated to learn my balance and strength aren't what they once were. I guess I can't expect recovery miracles, but I hate feeling weak. I hate requiring help. I've always been a strong, balanced individual so it was a shot at my ego to occasionally be pushed (by my butt) up the hill.

Now, having said that, my personal trainer would chastise me because as a woman using 17-1/2 pound weights in each hand while doing arm lifts and laying on an exercise ball, I'm not weak. I'm just hard on myself. I'll just keep working on it improving myself.

Despite my best efforts, my work will never, ever make me even 1/1000th of an Olympic competitor. But for the next two weeks, I will join millions of other Canadians, living vicariously through our awesome athletes and cheering them on from the comfort of my couch. Again, go Canada go!

Tina