Running Commentary

Before I allowed myself to think about running again, I did a lot of walking around the neighborhood. This looks like LA, but it's genuine Berkeley. My apologies to Dr. Gary Small, whose 14-day Memory Prescription has been sitting unused on my shelf for three days. I was doing well the first week, but I've caved into work deadlines and other stressors and have stopped mapping out my days according to his dictates. The good news is that I've still been eating reasonably well (better than was my pre-Small wont) and keeping Small's tenets about brain exercises, body exercises, and stress relievers in mind. Yesterday made it three weeks since I broke my rib. So this morning I went for a run. Had to go for a run because I could feel my fitness leaking out of me the way the transmission fluid used to leak out of my 1995 Ford Escort, eviscerating my mobility and making an unsightly pink puddle on the ground. The title of this post comes from George Sheehan , one of running...

The short of it is, the X-rays showed that at least one of my ribs is fractured. (And a couple more of them are darned sore.) I'm doing my best, which is actually pretty good, at accepting this forced change in my approach to my daily active life. It seems serendipitous that my mandatory running-less state, in effect for at least another week, has coincided with A) my stated intent to write about nutrition and B) my involvement with Dr. Small's Memory Prescription , and specifically the dietary guidelines it offers. I tell you up front that I am following his 14-day program only loosely. But I am honoring the spirit of the thing, that is, I'm performing actions every day that are designed to improve my existing practices in exercising, pursuing mental agility, reducing stress, and eating. I feel as if I'm even with or even ahead of his targeted readers in the exercising and pursuing mental agility departments, but right there among the the challenged when it comes to re...

I have worked my way through anger and denial and am (almost) fully ready to deal with my sore ribs. After running four times and experiencing increasing pain with each run, I am forced to admit that I'm hurt. Thus, I give you Plan B. Plan B has three components: B1--Go get the ribs X-rayed. If they are cracked at their two specifically bothersome pain points, I'll know to lay w-a-a-y off on the exercise so they can heal. B2--Stop my "stinkin' thinkin'"--that is, be thankful that I'm still a very healthy person, someone who can walk tirelessly for miles and also pursue other forms of exercise for a while until I'm healed up enough to run again. This step includes scaling down my plan to run a marathon May 5 and acknowledging that I may end up doing "only" the half marathon or even "only" the 10-K. B3--Have some fun loosely following Dr. Gary Small's Memory Prescription . This I am taking from Dr. Small's book, which lays out...

I need to get to work today but am checking in briefly to say that I'm having to face the reality of my ribs, which are continuing to hurt a week and a half after I creamed them in a freak bike accident. Fresh from taking two full non-running days, I ran about 5.5 miles this morning and was uncomfortable the entire way. Since I've been home (about seven hours), I've had persistent, specific pain in two ribs. Denial seems not to be working as well as I would like! So I'm going to take the next four days off and see how that goes. I'm signed up to run in the Couples Relay next Sunday, and may even have to beg off on that. Trying to look on the bright side: At least the weather forecast calls for a rainy week. This morning I got soaked, so I should welcome having a very real excuse not to go out in the rain again right away. At the risk of repeating myself, however, I'd like to say that running in the rain just isn't that bad. Through the pain and the rain (oh...

The weather is unstable these days--both globally and personally. I had some death and dying dreams last night, and awoke with my resting pulse about 10 bpm above normal. Ugh! My mind/body unrest reflects my questioning the soundness of my daily decisions and the soundness of the decisions of that man in the White House. I've decided to trust us both to act as responsibly and morally as we can. This all does relate to my running life, really. Having been sure to take a couple of Tylenol at about 2:00 a.m. to reduce any residual rib pain that might slow me down (see my post of Feb. 6), I headed out the door this morning around 6:00 for a brain-cleansing run down to the marina. Unfortunately, it became quickly apparent that the Tylenol wasn't doing its job. The result was the most painful run I've had since last week when I got up close and personal with a metal railing. Did I turn around and come home? A reasonable question. The answer, actually, is an unreasonable "no....

So I did run this morning, my heart gamely beating within the sturdy cage of my bruised ribs. When I started out, the pain was about a 6 on a scale of 10--not so good. It felt like an unwanted red light blocking my running road. But by the time I finished, however, the pain had gone down to a 4, which was eminently bearable. I took some Tylenol and, voila, felt fine. Later in the morning I accompanied Z as he led a geocaching -themed walk for the Berkeley Path Wanderers , up in the Berkeley hills. I was so proud to see him sharing his enthusiasm with his eager audience. And because of the recent rains, we encountered some great puddles and lush plant life, including tree moss (below). About two hours into the walk I decided to peel off and get back to my desk--sort of forgetting that I was almost three miles away from the house. I tramped on down to the flatlands anyway, and made it home in less than an hour no worse for the wear. I'm going to run again either tomorrow or Monday. W...

For days I have had a post about gear--written to follow up on my stated intention of 1/10 to write about specific running-related topics--ready to paste here. But busy-ness, self-created though it is, keeps getting in my way! So today I'm going to post my thoughts on my running duds. But first, an small get-you-up-to-speed detour. Wednesday evening I had a terrific fast 4.87-miler ( mapmyrun.com gives me exact distances--yay!) in SF. The sky was filled with high clouds, which were focusing the setting sun like a spotlight on various random areas. Specifically Alcatraz, seen in the above photo taken from the Muni Pier. That same evening I worked until 7:30. When I got back to Berkeley I was a bit toasted and so rode myself into a small bike crash--slapped handlebars with a parked bike and ended up draped over a handrail, much to the detriment of a couple of left-side ribs. I'm OK, but am whining a bit and skipping two runs that I had penciled in as to-do-for-sure. Grr. Plan to...

This is me before I headed out for my long run two days ago. Note my stylish sunglasses. Also note the bib numbers posted on the mirror to serve as incentiv e to get out there and train. Busy times lately! Z and I went to Reno for the wedding of my favorite nephew’s daughter, and an amazing time it was. The two photos below are worth a thousand (or more) words. Five cousins, together for the first time ever. You can tell they're excited. Brother and sister, reunited after a 16-year hiatus. Woo-hoo! I squeezed in only one run during the trip. Intrepid and foolish though I am, after braving the freezing rain Friday morning I opted out of performing any more cold-weather masochism. The Friday run, however, was curiously lovely (see photos below), especially in retrospect. Running in the cold rain wasn't as bad as it sounds. The world was painted with a gentle light. The ice was starting to melt. The park gazebo awaited spring. As I ran home, in another part of town I passed some ...