When it comes to sports,

When it comes to sports, I’m really more of an endurance athlete. If I have even a one-percent chance of someday being a competitive athlete, I have about 0.000001 percent chance of being a sprinter. I’m not fast, and I never will be. But I’m a pretty good tortoise. Slow and steady.
Carter didn’t believe that Olympic swimmers are twice as fast as me, but they really are. The world record for the women’s 50 free is 24.13; despite being the best swimmer I know besides Carter, the best I could pull off (these days, anyway) is probably about 45 seconds. I don’t know for sure as I don’t have a pool that’s very condusive to testing that, but it’s a guess. That’s if I tried really, really hard. And was allowed to collapse, gasping, on the pool deck at the end. But ask me to swim consistent laps of 50 meters per minute or so, and I can go for a long while. I can probably swim a mile faster than anyone I know. Again, not because I’m fast, but because my endurance at a medium level of effort is better.
It’s the same with running. I don’t really fall into a good stride until I’ve covered at least 3 miles. It’s annoying, because I absolutely hate the 20-30 minute “warm-up phase” when my legs hurt a little and my breathing is unsteady. But once I’m past the 5k mark, I get into a zone. Not “THE” zone, but a comfort area where I feel like I could reel off mile after mile forever. Last February at the Austin half marathon, I ran 10:30 miles. Not fast at all. But I was like clockwork. 10:30 for the first mile, 21:00 at the second mile, 31:30, 42:00. I was amazed at how dead-on I was each time I passed a mile marker. My last mile was a bit faster, as would be expected.
I ain’t fast, but I’m consistent.
The Olympics have only reminded me how much I love all the intricacies of sports. How to people perfect their technique? What makes one guy faster than the next? Sometimes I think it’s a shame that someone as interested in all the different aspects of athletics as I am isn’t faster, or strong, or better. But that’s the way it goes. In the meantime, it just makes me appreciate Olympians that much more.