January 2015

Imagine a human being aligned in perfection for a certain task. Kenyan marathoners are.
Imagine seeing up close the way human body can move when running at high speeds for hours. The mechanics of it. The strength. The spirit behind it.

That’s what the TRANSCEND film is about

I would like to skip, to scratch out the part of movie description from the site
– “Long-distance running allowed Wesley Korir to escape the grinding poverty of Kenya.”
That just gives a wrong message.

It’s not only about the struggles of simple ways of life in Kenya, though the part can not be denied. It’s about an enhanced vision of the phenomena of Kenyan runners. Shown from both social and spiritual sides. Shown with the highest quality of modern cinematography.

“…after winning multiple American marathons,
including taking running’s most cherished prize – the Boston Marathon,
he risks it all and returns home to help his fellow Kenyans create better lives for themselves.
In what proves to be the most challenging race of his career,
Wesley takes on a well-financed, big-party candidate to run for a seat

in Kenyan parliament,
attempting to balance the frenzy of campaigning with the demands of marathon training.
Transcend is the story of the elusive spiritual energy
that is somehow forged in the intense rigor of long-distance running,
an energy Wesley Korir is using to transform the nation”

From the TRANSCEND official site

” It’s such a consistent source of pleasure.
I’ve never gotten over this feeling of moving rapidly through space.
It takes you back to childhood. If you had asked me to define myself when I was 12,
I would have said I was a runner.”
Malcolm Gladwell

I haven’t been to cinema for what might be a couple of years. I could not find the right reason to spend couple of hours watching any video. This video – so worth it. The inspirational kick I got when I watched TRANSCEND in Chattanooga was good enough to make me hammer next morning run imagining I am a Kenyan! 🙂
Getting together to watch the movie with other runners – priceless. Getting to see packs of kenyans training together, getting to see Wesley Korir running, hearing his story, his thoughts, seeing a simple human being doing what he does – unforgettable.

What I want to do now – is to attempt to bring the movie to Atlanta. There are so many runners in Atlanta – there’s got to be something good coming out of this idea.

https://www.tugg.com/events/13226 – the TUGG.com page for the Atlanta Transcend screening

https://www.facebook.com/events/1538196353099342/ – the Facebook for the Transcend  on 03/03/2015, Tuesday

at AMC Mansell Crossing 14  7730 North Point Parkway, Alpharetta, GA, US, 30022

Read More »TRANSCEND

Vitality
[vahy-tal-i-tee]

exuberant physical strength or mental vigor:

capacity for survival or for the continuation of a meaningful or purposeful existence:
power to live or grow:

Russian avatarakali.livejournal blog post on 2015

 

“Stars form from clouds of interstellar gas and dust which collapse due to their own gravity. When the core of a newborn star becomes sufficiently hot and dense, hydrogen begins to fuse into helium providing a very powerful energy source. Stars are held up against gravitational collapse by pressure forces. This is known as hydrostatic equilibrium. Eventually no hydrogen remains in the core of the star and the star will begin to collapse again. Other energy sources (such as fusion of helium, carbon, and heavier elements) may hold the star up for a time, but ultimately all energy sources are used up.

At this point the star suffers from one of two possible fates, depending on its mass. Low mass stars (like the Sun) shed their outer layers in a so-called “planetary nebula,” while the inner core collapses to form a “white dwarf” star. Higher mass stars undergo a huge supernova explosion in which the outer layers are violently expelled, leaving behind a very dense “neutron star” or black hole.

Either way, the outer regions of the star are returned to the interstellar medium where they contribute to the formation of the next generation of stars.“

(с) NASA summarizes the basic life cycle of stars

 

This blog was started in mid-2014. I wanted to share on the Radiance of the year with my English-speaking friends back then.  Turns out – I will keep it in 2015, posting on random thoughts and observations on LIFE, Triathlon etc etc.

The idea of One word resolution is not new: I started “naming” my years since 2012, and here’s how it worked. I did not intend it to be following any pattern, but a friend of mine, a physicist, compared the pattern with the one of a star lifecycle. I liked that!

2012: the year of “GRAVTATION”: I’ve summoned up my skills, pulled inwards, closed up, reviewed my strengths, gathered up evidence of what I can do well enough.

2013: – the year of “EXPLOSION” – I used my summoned power for expanding the ranges of my activities, I rocked at Half-Ironman triathlons, ran alot, and shaped up my team at work. The explosion did leave some “lack holes” behind though!

2014 was bound to be the “RADIANCE” year. Words are not enough to describe the power of the Light I felt through the year. I was blessed and blessed and blessed with the ultimate happiness and feeling acute-alive. . I shared on the light – with dozens of friends: a generous gift of the Universe  in 2014. I’ve completed 2 Ironman events and somewhat more then dozen of smaller events. I created the base for my further development as a triathlete and as a professional in IT.

So here’s what I knew by the end of 2014: that

• 2015 will be the year of VITALITY.

I want to use all the experience I got through this “life cycle” in order to share of LIFE, support it, nurture it, explore it. To get stronger and better in triathlon, at work, to find a perfect Equilibrium in personal life. (don’t we all?)

On Dec 31st 2014 I’ve washed off 2014 during the famous 7-10-15K options DYNAMO Multisport “New Year Eve Extravaganza” 9K swim

(was targeting for 10, but had some technical issues after 9th K)

On Jan 1st, after 10 mile run am + 1 hour bike,  I’ve plunged into the Alatoona Lake waters together with other crazy people, at the yearly famous local  “Pillowman Polar Bear plunge”. By doing that I was sealing up the list of my 2015 goals scrapped on a tiny Michal Negrin stationary piece of paper.

 

For my yearly goals I will continue using the tool I started using in 2009 : found at some Russian blog, “the method ofa chair” proved to keep my development steady and balanced once it’s sorted by 4, not 2 or 3 sub-areas.

I keep my goals sorted by four areas:

• Professional
• Personal
• Hobby
• Other activities

Keeping it short! Read More »2015: the year of VITALITY