It is 32 degrees and snowing lightly this morning. I am so not ready for this. (I hope my sprinkler system didn't freeze up). Now comes the annual game with myself to see how long I can wait to turn on the furnace. I have a feeling it will be early this year.
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| The view from my back door |
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I have previously given links to articles on the dangers of sitting. Here is a study showing that walking for 5 minutes for every hour of sitting can counteract that damage.
http://sportsgeezer.com/2014/for-arteries-sake-walk-five-minutes-for-every-hour-you-sit/
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I mentioned earlier this week that the American Olympic Marathoner Deena Kastor was answering questions in the "Ask Me Anything" column over at Runner's World. Here is what she replied when asked about doping and marathoners. Well spoken, Deena.
Wow! A topic I could write pages of opinion! There is cheating in every profession that has fame or money on the line. Marathon running has both, so YES, I believe people cheat. I was floored in 2000 when I was given a survey in the Sydney Olympic Village about doping. I filled it our, but I now know it as the Goldman Dilemna, where an athlete would willingly choose an Olympic Gold medal even if it meant dying in 5 years! What? More than 50% of the athletes polled said YES! Are you kidding?
I will jump to this understanding: I have been fortunate to have great mentors and coaches who instilled in me a deep desire to facilitate progress, but more so to see how it builds a better person, a greater contributor to society. My pursuit has always been about digging down, pushing the limits, but also to see how I've grown on the other side. Records and medals are there as benchmarks, but it is the evolution that solidifies our character. A gold medal or a million dollar payday may be someone's motivation to feed their family or to move up the politcal/social ladder of his/her community, but it is not the character building agent of progress and higher purpose. I would choose a lifetime of diligent progress and purpose than some hardware and only 5 more years to live! Life is amazing, sharing the years with others is a gift and I don't want it to end any time soon!
OK...so, to maintain the integrity of the sport, I think the blood passports are doing a great job tracking the "norm" of athletes and catching them if there are discrepancies. I don't know what other measure except hair samples, but that is expensive and then suddenly people will have alopecia. Other than that, I don't really know except having a nark on the inside. As I stated in opening, some people will cheat when fame and money are on the line- they'll find a way.
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