enfinblue's Bluey (credit to Fifi for the nickname!) Diaryland Diary

"I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart." -Vinc3nt V@n Gogh

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Thinking...

Wow!

I know I shouldn't be up at this time, but I just made an amazing discovery.
I was on a running website that I haven't visited for AGES (given that I no longer considered myself a runner), and I discovered the International Athl3tics Associ@tions Federation standards for the Olymp!c Games in B3ijing.

I still have the marathon 'B' standard for the games, if you can believe that.

I mean, I don't have it right now, but I've run it. And I'm less than three minutes off the current 'A' standard, even eight years later.

Of course Athl3tics Canada won't send anyone unless they are in the top 12 in the world.

Yes, you heard correctly.

It's funny, I know. If every country thought that way there would only be 12 competitors in every event.

Can you imagine a marathon with 12 guys in it? I mean, 1896 was a stellar year, I'm sure, but I think we can shake it up a little, non?

:)

Funny how things are.

In all honestly, I would want to run a lot faster before I ever qualified for the Olys, anyhow, but it is all very interesting. I was not good enough to go to the Olys as I was, but I will also say that Run Can is also so poorly managed that no one with any potential to go to the Olympics in athletics has much of a chance. Except the sprinters, of course. But I'm just not going to go there...

In more interesting news, Canada has recently gained a new top-level marathoner in the form of J0n Brown. He and his wife have been living in Victoria for more than 12 years, and he finally jumped ship from Britain to here. He came in 4th at the last two Olympics for Britain. I always feel kind of sad for people when they cease to compete for the country of their birth. And for no good reason, since we know that I'm not a nationalist. Hmmm. The only claim to fame that I have in relation to JB is that I hold the women's course record on the same half marathon on which he holds the men's, in a backwater town on Vancouver Island. That's my favourite kind of race though, I must admit. Yes, the kind that I win! :) No. The kind that you run in the rain, in the country with mooing and impassive, blinking cows alongside and that has a turnaround marked by a single orange pylon at the end. If locals are out in lawn chairs watching you go by and the town hall is serving up a homemade potluck when it's over, all the better. I have fond memories of those races. I particularly liked the one in which I won a handpainted glass mug after taking two ferries and biking across an island to New York state, and then had to do the same thing in reverse gripping the glass mug gingerly to the handlebars of my bicycle. Oh yeah, and a giant submarine sandwich that I had mysteriously won in the race "raffle." I cherish those days.

Don't worry, I am not harbouring any unrealistic dreams.

I do harbour a new sort of dream, however. I went out for a run tonight with my new running partner, and I think it's a perfect match!

This woman is not a competitive runner, but she is an amazing multi-sport person. She cycles. She runs. She swims. And then she works ski patrol! She was on ski patrol all day today before our run. We ran for about an hour twenty together, and then I did an extra forty minute loop. It was ideal as I haven't run two hours in ages, and the pace was sufficiently fast to give me a good run whilst not being so fast as to tire me out. I think that this is going to work. I'm going to slowly rebuild and see what I can do. I feel invigorated by a new goal!

The thing is that I know that I shouldn't pin my life or my hopes or my self-esteem on achieving status in running. I recognize that the chance that I have of running really well at this point is quite low.

But given the stress of the job that I still need to work through I think that taking the focus away from the job for a while - and my battered self-esteem therein - is the best possible thing that I can do. It simply can't be my east my west, my night my day, blah blah.

So that's me being me. Let's see how I feel in the morning! :)

Time for some rest.

Sleep well!

12:41 a.m. - 2008-02-04

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