Golden Buddah

Wat Traimit is thought to date from the 13th century. The Golden Buddha image is about 900 years old and is cast in the Sukhothai style. It is believed to have been brought first to Ayutthaya.

When the Burmese were about to sack the city, it was covered in plaster to hide its value. Two centuries later, still in plaster, it was thought to be worth very little.

But in 1957, when the image was being moved to a new temple in Bangkok, it slipped from a crane and was left in the mud by workmen.

In the morning, a temple monk, who had dreamed that the statue was divinely inspired, went to see the Buddha image. Through a crack in the plaster he saw a glint of yellow, and discovered that the statue was pure gold.

I have so much to tell you about.

Triathlon
I volunteered last week at the Women's Only Triathlon put on by Element. I had a really excellent time. As dorky as it may sound my spirit really soars when I see women of all ages racing and enjoying the sport of triathlon. I had the chance to help unload and set up the site work at the registration desk and body marking and then cheer at the run turnaround. I saw fellow blogger Leana who I just found out won first in her AG! The only sad thing was not seeing everyone finish because I promised the last girl I'd still be there when she hit the turnaround and I held true to the promise. The finish line was very BLINGY with disco balls and decorations. Really fantastic. If you're in Alberta and wanting to try out the sport I highly recommend this race for your first. Lots of fun :)

I have to say I *wanted* so badly to be racing too! That was hard! But it's good to give of your time and I'm glad I did.

Training plan?
My own training has been pretty much non-existant. I keep telling myself that's OK but I miss it more now than ever. I even miss my bike! Slowly I will start re-integrating the swimbikerun stuff but for now I've got a plan for the "off-season":

TO GET SHREDDED

ooooh yeah. This is it. The ironman has been the "crane-drop" on my life. Cracking away at the exterior and showing possibility and the shine inside. I'm feeling a spiritual lift-off start to take place and I feel ready for the mind~body~ spirit connection to guide me on this journey. It will be as much about meditation (and learning it) as it will be about weight lifting and protein.

Just wait and see ;-)

Work

If you have a chance to hear Dr. Jane Simington talk please do. If I were to try and explain how impacted I was by her words of healing and peace I would not do it justice. And this was just WORK training! At one point in the training she discussed the golden buddah story above (ahha!) and at another point she discussed rocks and their significance to us. Here I sit typing this little update with three smooth stones infront of me and I think and laugh about children collecting and bringing us rocks. In native culture stones are referred to as "grandfather" because of their importance. I just might carry a grandfather with me now wherever I go.

Last but not least

I ran again this year the Rotary Run for Life. You can read my race report from last year here: Rotary Run Report 2008

I had originally planned to do the 10k but I decided at the very last minute to switch to the 5k to challenge myself. I've always wanted to run a 5k race in 30 minutes. ALWAYS. The garmin chimed 29 minutes when I hit 5k. I had about 300 meters to go yet and landed across the mats (not chip timed BOO) in 30:xx (and some seconds). This was nearly as incredible as crossing the mats at Ironman Canada. It once again demonstrated that yes: I can do what I set my mind to.

Take care and whatever you do enjoy what you do...