The Olympics and My Flabby Middle

We filled our plates with my mother-in-law’s chicken casserole and got comfortable in front of her big-screen. Because we got rid of satellite TV, my husband was a bit hang dog at our inability to watch the winter Olympics, so we pretty much invited ourselves over to his mom’s house.

I like it there, because her house is clean and she cooks stuff.

First up was women’s figure skating. Matt was thrilled. (Insert sarcasm emoticon here.) Did you see that little Russian girl pull her leg up to her nose and spin circles like it was no big thing? I would have to go to the ER if I tried that.

Then there were the women snowboarders, and I laughed at how girls are all huggy and compassionate to each other even after they bump each other out of medal positions.

Then Matt’s favorite –downhill skiing.

Does it stress anyone else out to watch men go 85 miles an hour on icy slopes and around tight curves and then launch themselves 20 feet off of jumps? I could only remember myself on the bunny slope, skis in “pizza” position, praying, Dear Jesus, please don’t let me die. 

Now let me tell you what I thought about the most during the downhill event –the men’s thighs.

If you’ve never skied, then you don’t know how your quads turn gelatenous after a few hours, especially when your prior athletic experience involves lugging a heavy load of laundry down two flights of stairs.

Man, those Olympic thighs.

Well, I just spent two weeks sedentary, after a horrible cold. That plus my newly 45-year-old body, and I’m feeling out of shape.

So all this long story to tell you that I am getting back on the treadmill today, and I’m going to do my strength training exercises. I’m midlife, and I want to have Olympic stamina to make it into the downhill stretch of my years on this earth –toned and ready for whatever tasks God puts in front of me.

“For physical training is of some value…”  (1 Timothy 4:8 NIV)

Here’s a huggy girl cheer for us this week –let’s exercise and keep these bodies fit for service.