Eugene 08

Last night I watched local coverage of Eugene 08, the track and field Olympic trials. Since I was tuning in late on Sunday night, they mostly had interviews and a cool "how they do it" segment that showed how athletes compete in their sports. I laughed at my self when I paid special attention to the steeplechase part so I could pick up some tips on jumping the log in the North Canyon that lays across the trail. Somehow my 12 inch log is not the same as the 30 inch steeplechase jump.

I gget really inspired watch the TF athletes, makes me wish I had competed in high school and college. I never even gave it a second thought then. Then again one of the things I love most about running is that is non-competitive for me (just don't pass me!) Actually I don't run fast enough to not get passed and as much as I want to not run faster when it happens, I know I do.

One of the shows I watched last night was about Steve Prefontaine, the U of O runner who went to the Olympics in the 70s. He died at 23 in a car accident. He is a total local hero here and was one of the first runners to run with the Nike waffle sole shoes. He was good looking and extremely cocky. He had a huge personality which people loved. I never liked him, I never bought into the cockiness. I thought of him as sort of a jerk. This has always been one of my personal problems with people who are very good at what they do. Their confidence comes off as cockiness and I don't care for it. I guess that is the curse of being someone who is decent at a lot of things, but great at nothing.

So for my run this morning, I decided to try a different rote which I knew was longer than what I have been doing lately. It only ended up being about a mile longer, but with the high humidity it seemed a lot longer. I was soaked by the time I got home. The run went really well, though my inspiration for speed from the night before didn't last too long. I didn't have any spells during it wgich was also great.