Suomi

Serious On Steroids

Mostly, I’m very intense. Serious. Focused. Determined.

My Finnish Master’s Track & Field friend, Juha, posted this on Facebook yesterday and while watching it with our son (9) and his friend, well, I …..

Diversification is so important. In business. With investments. And sometimes, even with blog posts.

Olympic Village Experience

While the 2009 World Master’s Athletics Track & Field World Championships are a far cry from the real Olympics, in terms of times and distances, it’s very much the same in many other respects.

Take last night. I’m in Sokos Hotel, unable to sleep. I’m seriously unable to even think about sleep.

One last trip downstairs to the front desk to ask for a 2AM wake-up call and review my bill. Then five steps to the main Lahti street sidewalk. Deep breaths. Cool, crisp air. Maybe 10PM-ish.

Head back through the open air lounge to the elevator…

“Want to trade”?, I hear an accent I don’t recognize.

Two Finnish athletes and their wives, engaged me in conversation. Come to find out Mauno, the Finnish Pentathlete, would like my Team USA top and is willing to trade his Suomi (Finland) top.

It’s a moment like this, sort of frozen in time like a childhood dream, that reminds me of what a privilege and honor it is to represent the United States and try humbly to live up to the Olympic reputation of great sportsmanship.

I went upstairs and finished packing.

And if there would have been more time, I would have slept like a baby.

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Met Yuri, 18, a Finnish Ski Jumper and watched the ski jumpers practice for about an hour. Yuri began jumping at age nine. He was very friendly, and humble.

Afterwards, I hiked to the top. All these Suomi flowers were along the path. Suomi means Finland.

Yes, the last picture is from halfway up the steps beneath the middle ski ramp. I was about as high as the top of the shortest ramp, which you can see to the left in the final photo. Very high indeed.