The Paralympics begin this Wednesday in London.  Isn’t it great  to recognize mobility challenged athletes and give them the respect and attention they deserve. They inspire us not just because they compete at an amazing level but they do it after rising up and over coming tremendous physical and mental  challenges.   Each night during the weeks the regular Olympics were televised I would  come home and turn on the Olympic Games so I could watch the greatest athletes in the world compete for Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Love this commercial for the games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKTamH__xuQ

It’s even more exciting for me to be able to rush home and flip on the T.V. and watch with the same enthusiasm the greatest athletes who I share so much in common with compete in the Paralympic Games. What makes the Paralympics more fun to watch is knowing that along with the regular intense training, dieting, sacrifice and shear iron will of each of these athletes is the added challenge of having to over come a physical handicap. It makes you want to lose your excuse.

I mentioned in a blog at the beginning of the year  that I spoke with Oscar Pistorious when I first started training to run my first marathon to get advise on how to run without so much pain in my stump. Seeing him run in the 2012 Olympic games was a piece of history I will ever forget. He will  be remembered as Perhaps the greatest Paralympic athlete of all time and as the  first Paralympian to compete in the regular Olympics.  Now that the door has been opened who’s next?

I am signed up for 4 more marathons before the end of the year. I had to scale back a bit because of the expense to travel to these different states. Let’s just say, ‘it ain’t cheap’. But not running as many this year as I did last year I have been able to concentrate on my style and technique and bit more which has been a great help. I’ve become faster and am able to recover quicker. I’ve been able to fine tune my workouts a bit more and see what is working and what isn’t.

You ask why  do I complicate  my life by running marathons ? To be honest, I like who I have become because of my handicap. I don’t want an easy life I want the strength to over come a difficult one. Bruce and I we agree on this one.