If you stop every time a blog barks, your road will never end.

There is very little that motivates me to get on the treadmill more than the freakin’ Olympics. For those of you who don’t watch, consider it.

Oh Emm Gee. Did anyone watch the marathon? I got cramps in my calves and stomach and ass and lungs and ego just WATCHING that freakin’ race. It’s 26 miles of gorgeousness in Beijing that cannot be enjoyed by the runners due to their blurring vision caused by dehydration and all consuming pain. Or that’s what I imagine.

I said to my Matty, “I am always so curious about what draws people to a particular sport. I am curious about how they discovered that running 26 miles without stopping, possibly losing a toenail or two and feeling their own mortality due to scorching pain was the sport for them.” He said, “Yeah.” He didn’t really care about my musings but was being a good partner by pretending to listen. Bless him.

So get this … the Gold Medal winner, a very bony gal from Romania (Constantina Tomescu-Dita) won the race by a VERY wide margin. She ran into the Bird’s Nest in Beijing all by her lonesome and almost finished the last 400 meters before the next runner entered the arena. So she bursts through the tape at the finish line, right? And what does she do? She RUNS over and gets her flag and RUNS her victory lap. Then … she continues to run. She stops now and then for a photo or to give an autograph or for a hug and then … she starts running again. When the cameras cut away to go back to the announcer, she was STILL RUNNING!

Do you get what I’m saying? She ran 26 miles, was CLEARLY hurting, crossed the finish line and kept running and running and running. Listen, at 30 minutes on the treadmill I am ready for a cocktail and a Little Debbie Cake. I stay on longer, but I don’t want to. And when I get OFF the treadmill I don’t then go outside and go for a jog. I don’t jog around my apartment in celebration. I don’t even run a diagnostic on my computer. There is no running after I finish my work out. What is wrong with that gal?

I am Tivoing as much Olympic coverage as my digital recording device can hold so I can watch it as I tread because there is little that is more motivating to me than the reminder of what I am capable of if I were to … want to put my body through a meat grinder.