2.26.2010

Rate: I Wish I Were Kim Yu-na

 Kim Yu-na might secretly be a superhero, or possibly a distant relative of the Greek Gods. I just love her. Yu-na not only took the gold in figure skating last night, but also set an untouchable world record (breaking the former world record, achieved also by Yu-na). The 19-year old, South Korean wonder woman remained completely composed and focused, barely breaking a sweat until 150.06 appeared on the scoreboard. Then she appropriately let it all go. 

I've never really been a huge fan of figure skating, and honestly, I have barely watched the past winter and summer olympics until this one. But something about Miss Yu-na completely captivates me, in a non-creepy way. I find it incredible that she is such a major celebrity in South Korea. Teenagers and young adults flock to her performances with glow sticks and lighters, screaming at the top of their lungs like they are at a pop concert. She's followed by paparazzi and fans in a similar fashion as Angelina Jolie or Lady Gaga. But Yu-na is not a pop star- she's an athlete. I don't think even the most famous athletes in America have the same level of stardom that Yu-na has in South Korea. Not to mention the athletes that do gain megastardom status end up being far from role models (ahem Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant). Maybe I'm giving her too much credit, but to me, she seems to have a unique form of popularity from an even more unique sport.  

What I'm trying to say here is that I wish I were Kim Yu-na. But not in a creepy, stalker way. Okay,  I want to be any olympic athlete, but it wouldn't hurt to be treated as a pop star and look adorable all the time while doing it. Sadly, I'm picking up the  extremely popular sport of running at the age of 24. So since I'll probably never be an olympian (shoot, I don't even know if I'll ever win a race), I will shamelessly admit that I wish I were in Kim Yu-na's shoes... or skates. 

Today is my easy day. Run: 37 minutes, low intensity. Post-run: Stretching and massage. I became abnormally fatigued today during my run which I believe is due to a small breakfast, three hours before my work out.  It's really important to eat the right foods and the right time in order to have a good work out which means if I continue to run in the late mornings, I need to be eating a bigger breakfast, probably about 2 hours before my run.  Good news though: I didn't have to use my inhaler the entire time! Screw you asthma!! Bad news: I need to invest in some nice athletic socks. I only have one pair and when I don't wear them, the blisters form rapidly. 




Next week I'm going to bring up the intensity- possibly run 40 minutes rather than 30 minutes on my average days.  I mean, I've got a lot of work to do before the next olympics. 

2 comments:

  1. My friend Amanda ran the San Diego marathon and she has terrible asthma... But she did it! I know you can too!

    I have a few books on marathon running that you are welcome to have... I was training for the Rock and Roll marathon then Kiwi and I ended up going to New Zealand instead. I obviously haven't felt the need to try it again so I'll pass the torch to you!

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  2. Thanks for reading and for the encouragement! New Zealand is obviously way cooler than marathon running. But yes I would love as many books and information about marathons as I can get!

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