Preparing the Olympics, or any other massive event, sometimes feels like being an Olympian myself. I certainly manage to avoid injuries during its planning, yet, as I have been selected and honoured to be part of it, I cannot let down the ones who rely on me. I do it for them, I do it for the athletes, and, inherently, I do it for my little frog. As a former athlete, this is not news to me, and I know better. Or so I thought. Because, yes, I caught myself having too much fun these past weeks, and voila: playing hard requires some hard training to sustain a 1970 / 1990’s rock star life.

A little series of life excesses and some nasty food poisoning nailed me over the weekend: the latter was out of my control, while I admit and take full responsibility for the former. I simply turned a deaf ear to the numerous suggestions and recommendations I have received since I moved to London. Well, let me rephrase this: I paid attention when reminded, and that was it. To my credit (if I were allowed any), landing in and discovering a new city is rather appealing: like a child, I just went head down, enjoying what the city has to offer while remaining professional at all times (yes, it is possible).

Then, sure enough, I had to pay back, and I did, thank you. My physical training has been lacking and looking quite unbalanced compared with my mind one. And it is all my decision to reverse this trend. Checking with other expatriate colleagues, we are in the same boat: same speed, same fire, same eagerness to make the most of it. We just end up, unintentionally, competing for black circles under our eyes. Sharing that attribute does not make us any stronger, just more tired, flirting with exhaustion. And the Games have not even started yet.

Pushing my body when it is weak is non-sense: too many athletes have had to bail out of major sport competitions for this very reason. I know better too, as I had to rest after various injuries. It is never too late to be reminded, and listening to my body has shown more wisdom than insisting with my opinions: over the years, I know who the winner is. It is not so much about going wild (although, I cannot lie: that is exhilarating and a great mood-battery recharger), it is weighing, and positioning, the Yin and the Yang to build a balanced life (where balanced and boring are antinomic).

It may be “mind over matter” most of the time in life, the body, when missing its basic elements to survive, takes priority, and rightfully so. I am just glad this alert happened now rather than in the middle of the Olympics: I may be guilty of over enjoying Life, I cannot make others suffer from and pay for my own decisions. It is about Respect, both to the people around me and myself.