In awe of Olympians

I am a bit of a running freak in the summer. The sun rises early, and I am able to get out of the house around 7am, and go for a daily jog. My husband is a teacher, and he is home in the summer. He stays in the house with the kids while I get my daily fix. If I have timed it well, I am usually home before everyone wakes up. I don't usually time it well, at least from my husband's perspective. For some reason my children don't sleep in during the summer. Does anyone else have this problem?

I wrote "jog" because after watching the women's marathon the other day, I realized I move at a snail's pace compared to them. It takes me 38 minutes to run about 6 km. I am under half an hour for 5km. These women had already run 11 km in 40 minutes when I tuned in, and it didn't look like their pace slowed terribly toward the end of the race. The gold medalist, Tiki Galena, finished the marathon in 2 hours and 23 minutes, after crashing, and injuring herself. If I kept my pace, and this is a big if, it would take me 4 hours and 26 minutes to complete a marathon.

Then there are the triatheletes. They swim 1.5km, bike 40km, and finish with a 10km run. I had thought about doing a triathalon, years ago. I used to swim daily in university, for exercise. I used to bike to school from my off campus home. I ran a bit back then too. I never got around to trying a triathalon. I remember talking to an organizer of one, he said as long as you stay on your feet during the run section, they will let you finsh. I am not sure if I am ambitious enough to do a triathalon anymore. I am barely ambitious enough to sign up for a 5 or 10km race.

I like running. It gives me some time to listen to my podcasts. Sometimes, I get lost in my thoughts while running. But, I don't really push myself. I have been told if I were to run in a race, I would probably be a little faster. Running with others automatically brings out the competitiveness in us. I can see that. Running around my neighbourhood, I rarely come across another runner. In Oakville, I pass by lots of runners, especially on the weekends. We are usually going in opposite directions, but I speed up when I run past someone.

I run because it makes me feel better, it is good for me, and I have the time in the spring and summer. Once the days start getting shorter, I find it harder to run. I am not a fan of running in the dark, alone. I also do not like running in the winter on snow and ice. My father used to run in the winter when we lived in Manitoba. Crazy man. I am always worried I will slip and fall. Yes, I like running, but these Olympians have a drive in them that makes them want to be the best in the world. Sometimes, I wish I had a strong passion for something, but we can't all be so driven. Some of us are quite happy, jogging along the highway, listening to Quirks and Quarks, and occasionally picking up the pace, just to see if we do have it in us.

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