Ryan's Dedication to Swimming

Ryan in GQ Magazine (Jan. 2009)

As a Ryan Lochte fan, I love Gold Medal Mel, an Olympian and expert on all things swimming related. Not only do I love him for his super cute Reezy videos, but I also love him for the insider information he provides about Ryan's swimming career. For instance, in his December 13, 2008 blog, GMM provided the following insight:

"I should point-out that [Ryan is] exceedingly serious about his swimming.

Coming off of an Olympic performance, particularly Lochte's performance in Beijing, is emotionally draining. The fact that Lochte's back in the water shows fierce determination. Every day out of practice costs you two to get back into shape. We're only 4 months away from the Olympics and Lochte's back in top form! I think he's going to shine at next year's World Champs in Rome!" http://www.goldmedalmel.typepad.com/

It's difficult to imagine how hard it must be to (a) rely on your body to earn a living; and (b) return to the physical grind of swim practice after experiencing something as exciting as the Olympics.

I was thinking about (a) on Sunday at my pilates class. My muscles always feel a little sore after pilates, but I'm sure it is nothing compared to what swimmers and other professional athletes put their bodies through. Also, if my muscles feel a bit sore, or even if I am injured, I can still go to the office, sit at my desk, and write reports and briefs like any other day. I don't have to take time off work or worry that my body won't heal properly or fear that I'll never be as good at my job as I used to be (not to mention the whole aging process). This must be very stressful for professional athletes to endure.

As for (b), the closest thing in my life that I could relate to the Olympics experience is passing the bar exam. It's certainly my biggest accomplishment, and it was the culmination of 3 years of hard work. However, it's really not the same as the Olympics because it's not like my brain forgot two days worth of knowledge for every one day I relaxed between taking the bar exam and starting work and, unlike the very few individuals who win Olympic gold medals, thousands of people pass the bar exam every year.

In any event, it is cool to learn from GMM that Ryan is serious about swimming and he has a fierce determination. That is a quality anyone can look up to and it inspires me to try harder in my job, even if it is less than 1% as exciting as Ryan's!