Big Shoes To Fill

I could never run 1500 m in under four minutes.  Oh, I can walk it in under fifteen minutes but I could never run it in under four.

My cousin who, let's face it, I have been pimping on here, ran in the semi-finals at the world champs this morning (last night in Korea o'clock) and for a while he was right in there, keeping up.

Alas, in this race, it was not meant to be.

Geoff does not regard this as a failure but an opportunity to run with the absolute best in the world.  For him, it has been an opportunity to set the gauge for Calgary and then London in 2012; he has seen all this as a learning experience.

For Geoff, it was not a race lost but a dream come true.

I think Geoff said it best on his blog: "As I was walking up the backstretch towards the line, prior to the starting of tonight's 1500m, I looked around and tried to take in the moment. I can't put in words what it was like, I couldn't take a picture for it, no silly blog video would capture it. To walk the track among the best 1500m runners in the world, to be in a big, packed stadium, and to be wearing the Canadian singlet; it was literally a dream come true."
So the question I ask myself tonight is this: do I have the ability to turn my losses into victories?

It really is about perspective, isn't it?

Am Proud

Am also sick at home today.  It has been nearly two weeks with this chest infection and I believe I am relapsing.

I called in dead this morning.

My cousin Geoff ran his ass off  last night.. today... what time is it in Korea again? and has made it to the men's 1500 metre semifinal at the 2011 IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

You can read about his qualifying heat at CBC's site.

You can watch him run on September 01.  If I have done the conversion right (Daegu is 15 hours ahead), he will be running at 4.55 am Mountain time or 7.55 pm, local time.  If I've done the conversion wrong, complain to Lord Google that you want your money back.

(totally ripped off the Internets)

If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. ~ Jesse Owens

Shameless Plug

My cousin Geoff is here running his arse off, with hopes of competing next year at the 2012 Olympics in London.

You can check Geoff's blog out as he chronicles his training and races.

I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened. ~ Wilma Rudolph