Day three of Charlotte UltraSwim. I was an anti-doping volunteer, helping USADA to carry out drug test on swimmers. While waiting, I watched a couple of final events, including Men's 200 Fly. Many great, world class swimmers were at the meet, but Michael Phelps was at the center of all focus. Winning eight gold medals in one Olympic has elevated him to the status of a hero. We wanted our hero to win. We cheered; We stomped; we roared. But I was left moaned as Wu Peng pulled ahead in the final 50m and took another win of the 200 fly which was once "Phelps event." Last month, Wu overcame Phelps, ending his winning streak. To see Phelps swim live for the first time and see him lose is a disappointment, I have to admit.
Nine days into 2012 and a day before entering into a new age group is an opportune time to nail down some New Year's resolutions. 2011 was a good year, one that filled with transitions and norming -- be it moving from California to Charlotte, from being a student back to an architect, or starting fresh in a new territory to establishing roots and relationships. My new running and swimming communities had made the transition easy and welcoming, and partly because of that, much of my attention in the past year was on either sports, like running my first 50k and participating in my first swim meet. Having just graduated from seminary was probably the other half of the reason why I had been keeping a distance from structured studies / reading in 2011. With that said, my 2012 focus will be on balanced growth. While I still have a long list of goals in swimming and running, I need to make sure I allocate enough time and attention to spiritual and intellectual grow...
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