Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Hero

You hear the phrase "You're a hero!" quite often these days. More so back home probably but the compliment shows it's face every so often here too, particularly when numptys like @D_Forr insist on heaping praises on washed-up strikers like Fernando Torres. I'll save the footy talk for another entry but it may be pertinent to add that Park Ji-Sung has turned into a "Zidane-like God" according to one expert punter back in Cork. I always thought the lad had a Ferrari engine hidden behind an exterior akin to that of a Fiat Punto but he's coming into his own and fair play to him.

Anyways, back to the hero chatter. I have never had the phrase directed towards me, perhaps understandably so. I tend to draw ire from people as opposed to praise and that's fine, but everyone wants to feel like a hero every so often. I was then extremely excited to finish my workout with such a feeling today. Well, to be truthful, excited and concerned are interchangeable in this case as my superfluous notions of heroic quality embedded deep within my character were attributed not to any on-track endeavor but rather to the realization that my Achilles heel may well be my heel. There you have it. On the emotional side, I'll take being a hero. On the physical side, I have to take care of this thing. One can't be too careful with a tight achilles so my cuppa got some company tonight in the form of an ice cup for a quick little massage.

I want to use this entry to give a shout out to one of my closest friends here in Tallahassee. He has garnered many a nickname since I first met him a year and a half ago, most of those coming from Chilean middle-distance enigma Pablo Navarrete. Choice examples include 'The Mayor' and 'Party Chrees', yet he could be more aptly described as the unheralded king of Georgia Hills and has kept me company on many a morning run and given me a lot of support in my time at FSU.

When you're running well and life's good, you are usually never short of friends. Yet Christian Minor has been there on and off the track through some of my toughest periods here in Tallahassee. Never short of an opinion and never shy to express it, his off-the-cuff commentary may be misinterpreted as utter viotrol by most (Protologist and myself aside) observers, yet those who dwell within the confines of Mystic Woods (and this includes the squirrels "OI-MAMI!!") can attest to his qualities as a friend. The word 'hero' may be thrown around now and may well appear distant and removed from it's historical contexts, yet to a guy that has been an integral part of my recent history, I can think of no better a compliment to pay.

The NCAA Championships will most likely dictate where my story will continue. I may well stay in Tally. I may also leave and become a part of the exodus every college campus (and track team as a microcosm) experiences annually. Sure, a connection with a teammate extents beyond the track and I will be forever grateful to be a part of the Seminole family and that of our track/xc program in particular. Yet as one takes the next step, one cannot help but acknowledge that it will be the true friends that stay with you regardless of where that step takes you. I'm grateful to have a few of those here, and Christian Minor is certainly one.

'Til next time, GO NOLES!

Mad.

No comments: