Kick ’em when they’re up, kick ’em when they’re down
The Olympics start in a week. I’ve had a few people ask me if I’m going to watch the Olympics thinking that maybe I won’t because it would remind me of where I wanted to be in August. There’s no doubt that I’m going to watch the Olympics and I’m pretty excited for the Track portion. I really want to watch the distance events, not necessarily because it’s the Olympics but, because there is going to be some amazing races with great coverage. There’s no other races that get the coverage the Olympics get, and if there were, I would watch them just the same. In the distance races CBC will likely do a profile on any Canadian in the race and maybe a little something on the top competitors in the field and then show most of the race, that never happens any other time.
Not going to the Olympics has made me question and realise some things. I’ve asked myself “why do I run?”, and that answer has been quite refreshing because it strips running down to it’s roots without any bullshit that may come with competing at a decent level. It’s made me realise that the media only cares about Olympians for a few months, even if you do the exact same thing as an Olympian, only the Olympian gets recognition. I realised I’ve been set aside by some, which is unfortunate. And I continue to realise the amount of support I have from others, which has been amazing, thank you.
More than anything I really wish I was training right now. After three weeks off I started back up two weeks ago with a 4km run. I would increase my run by about 1 km a day while taking every 4th or 5th day off. I still don’t have full stength and speed in my left leg, but it has been better then when I was trying to run in June. I built up to a 13 km run by Tuesday when I noticed an ache in my lower left back with shooting pain, slightly different from my initial injury, and now I’m back down, haven’t run since.
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FLOAT ON 
Hey Reid,
Just thought I’d send a hello!
Good luck with the comeback and thanks for the honesty and open-ness with this blog. We all actually have really complex and important reasons for running, and we get complex and important things from the sport, though we don’t always realize these things until we strip some of the other stuff away. Though it may sound cheesy, I would suggest that there is much to be gained from how unforgiving and difficult this sport is, perhaps especially at your level.
Reid
Great insights even for a newbie like me! Sorry to hear you are back down.
Aaron
Hey Reid
Good entry into the blog. I’m actually frustated with all of the tv ads saying they support Olympic Canadian athletes all year around, like car commericals, credit car companies and fast food resturants. I think it’s bs that they make these commericals during or up to the Olympics and cut everything off about 10 days when the Olympics are done.
I have been training with Jay ever since Nat’s have been over.
Desy
Great blogs filled with humour and insight. Thank you for sharing them.
Jeremy