Monday Morning Musings
I got the blues... I was exchanging notes with a friend and realized that the subject matter was ripe for a Blog.
I have been quarreling with my temper for at least a week now. Like an arthritic crocodile I have been snappish and cranky, a distemper that has been directed haphazardly at the world around me and the people I interact with, too many of them the folks I care about and love, with little sense or meaning to the baring of my teeth. I have been all out of sorts, not really sure why, and battling a feeling of ennui and depression bordering on despair. It might just be a function of all my mileage and feeling run down (the suspected allergy is really a cold coming on and I sense it is digging in for a long fight with my battered immune system), but it doesn't really explain why I am so short-tempered and angry.
I am not sure what I have to feel quite so angry about and it is such a negative and debilitating response to stress that I am sifting about for the root causes. Perhaps I am frustrated at the lack of clear goals and objectives in my life outside of running. The running and the attempt to qualify for Boston is keeping me sane, if on edge, and I could certainly use and would appreciate that kind of focus in the rest of my life.
I went for a couple of job interviews last week and they were universally disappointing. I am still holding out for something that might have potential to turn into a career but I am not holding my breath. I have many irons in the fire, but any forward movement is dependent on the decisions to be made by other people, so in essence, my future is in the hands of other people. Not really a place comfortable to be in for someone who likes to have the initiative. There is no denying that I much prefer to be at the helm.
So I will work on the virtues of patience and let the universe unfold as it will...
On a more positive note, if you get a chance, go see this film. You will be inspired. Saint Ralph is the story of a 14 year old who is determined to run the Boston Marathon. The film is an above average Canadian film, but with a great, no, make that a fabulous story. If you are a runner, you will identify with Ralph and love the arc of his progression as an endurance athlete. And I defy any runner to tell me that they haven't at one time or another entertained this very same fantasy...
http://www.amazefilm.tv/trailers/st_ralph_hb.html
http://www.tribute.ca/synopsis.asp?m_id=9424
http://www.chumlimited.com/mediaed/guidepage_scanning.asp?studyID=153
Afterwards, a few of us were so inspired we rented and watched, Without Limits, the film biography of Steve Prefontaine.
That led to another evening of watching Chariots of Fire.
So my question is this; what is everyone's favorite film about running? I'd love to put together a list of Top Ten Running Films of All Time.
I have been quarreling with my temper for at least a week now. Like an arthritic crocodile I have been snappish and cranky, a distemper that has been directed haphazardly at the world around me and the people I interact with, too many of them the folks I care about and love, with little sense or meaning to the baring of my teeth. I have been all out of sorts, not really sure why, and battling a feeling of ennui and depression bordering on despair. It might just be a function of all my mileage and feeling run down (the suspected allergy is really a cold coming on and I sense it is digging in for a long fight with my battered immune system), but it doesn't really explain why I am so short-tempered and angry.
I am not sure what I have to feel quite so angry about and it is such a negative and debilitating response to stress that I am sifting about for the root causes. Perhaps I am frustrated at the lack of clear goals and objectives in my life outside of running. The running and the attempt to qualify for Boston is keeping me sane, if on edge, and I could certainly use and would appreciate that kind of focus in the rest of my life.
I went for a couple of job interviews last week and they were universally disappointing. I am still holding out for something that might have potential to turn into a career but I am not holding my breath. I have many irons in the fire, but any forward movement is dependent on the decisions to be made by other people, so in essence, my future is in the hands of other people. Not really a place comfortable to be in for someone who likes to have the initiative. There is no denying that I much prefer to be at the helm.
So I will work on the virtues of patience and let the universe unfold as it will...
On a more positive note, if you get a chance, go see this film. You will be inspired. Saint Ralph is the story of a 14 year old who is determined to run the Boston Marathon. The film is an above average Canadian film, but with a great, no, make that a fabulous story. If you are a runner, you will identify with Ralph and love the arc of his progression as an endurance athlete. And I defy any runner to tell me that they haven't at one time or another entertained this very same fantasy...
http://www.amazefilm.tv/trailers/st_ralph_hb.html
http://www.tribute.ca/synopsis.asp?m_id=9424
http://www.chumlimited.com/mediaed/guidepage_scanning.asp?studyID=153
Afterwards, a few of us were so inspired we rented and watched, Without Limits, the film biography of Steve Prefontaine.
That led to another evening of watching Chariots of Fire.
So my question is this; what is everyone's favorite film about running? I'd love to put together a list of Top Ten Running Films of All Time.
posted by Vince Hemingson at 9:04 AM
4 Comments:
Vince, every time I think I have you figured out, you come up with something like this.
You are incredibly talented and I can't imagine you not succeeding at anything you put your mind to.
You make the world a more interesting and certainly a more exciting place for those of us around you.
I hope you know that there are lots of people who appreciate what you do.
Vince,
Ditto to the comment above.
Just to brag to your readers and give you a little "ego-food", reading your blog has inspired me to start running for the first time in my life.
I was unemployed, depressed, and had just ended a long relationship. I started running in February and have found that with the help of my inhaler, I love it.
I then found a running group in Indianapolis to run with. After about 6 months of being unemployed, I finally landed a good job, which starts in July. After I moved to Cincinnati, I went out and found yet another group to run with. We run three times a week together.
Your blog has truly been inspirational to me. Running keeps me grounded and reminds me that the important things in life are usually the most easily obtained and are free (like running with friends).
Although I hate to read books, I have to admit that I started Jeff Galloway's Book on Running. I wouldn't have even entertained the idea of reading a book for pleasure if had not been for this blog and the constant referencing of it by both you and your fellow runners who comment here. Hopefully I can get my running group to try some of his different training techniques instead of just doing the same routes and only changing the gossip.
Thank you so much for inspiring me to not only run, but to live life more fully. I am a better person because of it. I'd like to thank the other runners who leave comments on your blog too. I find they are both entertaining and encouraging.
In conclusion, being unemployed really sucks. I feel your pain, my friend. Keeping a regular schedule including regular exercise has helped me immensely.
And what’s my favorite "running" movie? The Miracle of Kathy Miller.
Susan
Oh Vince. What can be added to that? I'm not sure how much more stroking your ego can take, but let's find out:
It sounds like you are struggling under nothing more obscure than the Curse of the Gifted. Someone like you, Vince, will never be satisfied with the ordinary challenges of life. Someone with your complexity and talents won't, ironically, be at peace until they are being s-t-r-et-c-h-e-d. You began this blog with the words "I don't really begin to function at my best until I am completely and utterly consumed...with a goal or task in my life that seems, at least on the surface, as something approaching the insurmountable". My guess is that your sense of fulfillment and purpose in life are probably found in that same place.
Something big is right around the next bend Vince. I know that it is. But in the meantime, maybe you can find some raison d'etre in knowing what you provide for others. I ditto the previous comments for myself: You inspire me to run better and live fully. You make me laugh after 30K. And you are getting me to the start line.
Rachel.
P.S. Don't you hate it when someone half your age pipes up with advice?! I love ya Pops!
The Blog certainly wasn't intended as a cry of pathos for a little more love and understanding. And sometimes I forget that people are going to read it, and in some cases, respond to it.
That being said, thank you for the preceding comments. It is always nice to be appreciated.
As for you, Rachel, it's a good thing I love you like a little sister. I hope the lucky bastard appreciates YOU.
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