Tonight I was interviewed by Mark Watson of Sport Lately on Radio Sport. (Radio Sport is my favourite radio station. You see, deep down I am a sports junkie. So much so that I have resisted getting Sky Television as I know I'd watch a game of tiddly winks if it was on.) I had emailled a link to my blog and brief outline of my story to Andrew Dewhurst (the show's co-presenter and producer of another show - the High Performance Hour) as I knew the High Performance Hour had a 'Things We Like' section I thought they might give this blog a plug. Andrew liked it enough to ask me to put together a brief story for the TriNZ newsletter and he passed that story on to Mark.
When I got the call from Mark this afternoon, I got a bit of a shock as I hadn't expected it to go beyond the newsletter. I got even more of a shock when I heard Mark's intro at the top of the show. He described my story of one of courage and determination (and I guess it is), but for some reason it stirred something deep inside me and emotions started to bubble away - a lot of pride, a little bit of fear (of letting people down now that I was beginning to create expectations), some sadness (as I reflected on my accident) and even a bit of vanity that someone had considered me worthy of such praise. My breath shortened and a few tears welled up, but I left the room to gather my thoughts and calm my emotions.
The interview went well and I was blown away with the way in which Mark portrayed my story. When he announced at the end of the interview that they are going to check up on me every three months and that the nation would be following me through my training, I began to lose it. I managed to get out a genuinely heartfelt thanks on air and then, when the producer thanked me off air, I could feel bubbling emotions heading to the surface. I could hear my mobile phone recieving several texts from many of those who read my blog.
As I entered the living room the rest of the Mark's story was still being broadcast. Carleen tells me to hush as Mark reads the first paragraph of the story I had sent to Andrew and then I hear him say people like me are "the true heroes of New Zealand sport" and I become a blubering mess. I can't tell you exactly why, I really don't know. I wasn't sad and I wasn't happy, perhaps it was just a realisation of exactly what I have set out to do and what it means to me and to the people around me. Carleen embraced me and I was instantly calmer and then came the inevitable phone call from my parents. I answered, but could not speak. Eventually I controlled my emotions and Mum and I spoke for a few minutes about how proud Mum and Dad are of me.
Who knew five minutes of fame could be so emotionally draining.
2 comments:
Richard
Heard your story on the radio while I was doing the dishes and it immediately rang a few bells. I'm Moff's cousin and can remember vaguely when this happened. You really are an inspirational story and a story that in time should be heard by as many as possible. Started reading this Blog to see if Moff was mentioned anywhere and now I'm addicted. Well done and good luck.
Steve
Thanks Steve. I love getting feedback from people I don't know and its especially motivating to know that you think that I am an inspiration. Your comments will help spur me on through the next 33 weeks of training during the race. Stay posted, there is bound to be more stuff about Moff too - he's usually worth a couple of laughs at least.
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