Prevailing Against All Odds!

Lesson: If you stop running for more a year, you can't start back up where you started.















I went for a run today. Pitiful! I, who once LOVED taking leisurely ten-mile jaunts UP the hardest SF hills at a 9min/mile clip, couldn't complete jogging two miles on relatively small Boston hills without being winded and exhausted! Granted, I ran in 80-degree, humid weather, but the heat was not as bad as my muscle weakness, joint pain, stitch in my stomach, Achilles' tendon pain and IT-band pain. If there is a bright side, it is that my posterior tibialis (which was in jeopardy of developing a stress fracture) did not act up today. I also have not yet felt the signs of my all too friendly shin-splits coming back. I have so many complaints, I sound like a person in a nursing home!

When I came home I stretched thoroughly. Then, the stiffness set in. I also noticed that I was quite the stinky one! When I was done stretching, I joined one of my other roommates on the post-run & extra curricular activities stinky couch. Hopefully I will keep my alliance to this couch for a while as I hope to eventually get rid of my old woman aches and build up my mileage again. There's nothing wrong with being stinky if you've earned it!

Overall, running today felt fantastic. I just need my body to not give up on me yet. Just because I took a very long lazy-woman's break from exercising does not mean my body can just stop functioning! At least this is what I hope. Dammit! I will prevail! I want to learn how to take care of myself so that I can eventually run the Boston Marathon. However, in order to qualify, I need to first run another marathon pretty fast. Ugh! Last year , about this time, I started training and that is how I got injured. The question is, can I do this without getting myself hurt again? My last marathon was super slow, so I need to pick it up! Hmm . . perhaps I should worry about mileage first though, as I couldn't even complete 2 mi today!!!! What an old woman I am.

Reiteration of the lesson for today :
If you don't use it, you lose it!

Have a good night!

COOL!

Check it out! There is a ring tone that adults can't hear, which is being used by teenagers to pass messages in class. Go to RING TONE to read the article. This article makes me very curious as to when we start losing our ability to hear higher frequencies and, specifically, what part of the ear begins to degenerate. If anyone finds out please let me know! Thanks.

UPDATE: I guess I'm not an adult because a friend just sent me the special tone and I could hear it. Though it was really soft, so I could see how in a classroom it could be missed by the teacher.

Lesson: By Helping Others We Help Ourselves

Recently I visited my brother in NJ. I stayed with him, his wife and five year old daughter. While there, I was subjected to helping entertain and then prime his daughter for her third dance recital. I had forgotten the ritualistic and somewhat masochistic character of dance. Once, not too long ago, I was immersed in this world. Now, for whatever reason, whether it is body shape, age, injuries or the pursuit of new interests, I have temporarily left dance. Working with my niece allowed me to reflect on the joys I once felt for the expression of rhythm and melody through movement. I experienced somewhat of a sad, nostalgic feeling, but for the most part, I was overjoyed by my niece's enthusiasm for dance as well as her delight in her new costume. After all, one of the perks of dance is the opportunity to wear frilly outfits is it not? I remember begging my mother when I was my niece's age for a tutu. However, back in the eighties costumes were more expensive because they had not yet developed synthetic materials to the degree they have now. I'm thrilled that my niece gets a new tutu or frilly outfit each year; this is the true benefit of technology. But I digress. . .


















As I fixed my niece's hair, my fingers felt awkward and I fumbled with her bobby-pins in addition to almost blinding her with moose! I suddenly was shocked to realize that I identified with my mother. She always had struggled with my hair before dance concerts, especially when I was very young. A little blond, white girl's hair for those of you who don't know, is the best and the worst! It is so delicate and soft it feels like goose down but it is also uneven and slippery and, as a result, it is almost impossible to get into a bun. As I wrestled with my niece's locks, I realized that I had never had the opportunity to prep a little person for a dance recital. At this point I sensed *Gasp!* a maternal instinct within myself. Perhaps there was a future for me in styling a little girl's hair, maybe even my own daughter's hair someday. I recognized that my role in the dance world had changed. I had gone from being the performer to the supporter.




Working with my niece, who was VERY squirmy, required that I develop a new somatic vocabulary. I had to be swift but gentle. She was so small! Her hair was so fine! I was in awe of my mother and my sister-in-law for having done this grooming ritual for numerous years. In addition, I was embarrassed by my awkwardness and promised myself that I would become a more active participant in my niece's life.







On the last day of my visit I experienced an especially touching moment. Early in the morning, around 5am, my niece crawled in bed with me and nuzzled into the curve of my body. I had never slept with a child before. Once again, I felt awkward, what if I crush her? Does she have enough room? Should I reciprocate her affection? I felt rigid as I overanalyzed this simple matter of the heart. In the end, I cleared my mind and decided to hug her. If she didn't have enough room I was pretty confident that my niece would have no problems kicking me or telling me to move. As for rolling over and crushing the poor girl, well, my brother would forgive me eventually right? I guess we were pretty cute together because flashes of light and whispers soon woke me up. The rest of my family had gathered in the door to take pictures of my niece and I. Luckily my niece slept through it.



I left my brother's place with a stronger sense of self and a restored spirit. Recently, after I had finished telling this story to a friend, he commented " Isn't it amazing when you're around someone who is able to give unconditional love?" His comment clarified my experience for me. My niece is free of most judgments at this point in her life. When I'm around her, everything is true and sincere. I do not have this experience in daily interactions with adults. When I need to emotionally recharge, I often think back to my weekend at my brother's house and the trust and love offered me by my niece. I needed to be needed and unconditionally loved. A five year old renewed my heart.

Adventures in Alex's Apartment

During finals I feel I was diverted from my theme of "life lessons." However, never fear, I plan on returning to this theme once again.

Culinary Lesson: Gas burners are not good for toasting bagels!

I have been traveling across the west coast for the past two weeks. In this time I have seen hippos gnawing each other's ears in the San Diego zoo and rich Beverley Hills women strut the streets like they own the world in LA, but perhaps my favorite site was watching Noel, one of my west coast buddies, try her luck at using a gas burner as a toaster-oven.
However, first some background info: I had just returned from a five day hiking trip with my friend Alex to discover that his roommates had moved out, taking with them EVERYTHING in his apartment. They even took the scrabble board and tupperware!! Even Alex, who had known they were going to move out and had an inkling as to how much of they owned, was shocked. His whole four room apartment was empty. In addition, the bedrooms did not have built in lights so I had to use a headlamp in my room for the whole week I stayed with him.

To top it all off, we were supposed to give a dinner party the next day and Alex did not have plates, glasses, napkins, dish soap, a table, chairs or food!! Just some basic necessities for a party.

Nevertheless, the dinner party went off without any glitches. I bought some plates, Alex Bought some food, his friend Catherine cooked it and brought over some other dinner utensils and we were set! One of the dinner guests, Jen, brought wine and we drank it out of bowls. An improvisation that I think I will repeat purposefully at another party.
Perhaps the greatest lesson here is that friendship does not require material support for it to flourish!



However, eventually the time came for Alex to leave for a Wedding and for me to make it alone in his apartment for the last leg of my trip. For some moral support and company I invited an old friend, Noel, up to stay with me in Alex's apartment the first night he was gone. Well, Noel had not eaten in a LONG time and there was still not much food around. Eventually, we found some old bagels. Actually, I believe Noel persuaded Alex's new roommate to take pitty on her and give her some bagels. Either way, once she had food she was happy, but then she wanted the bagel toasted and Alex still had no toaster oven. The real oven would have taken too long, so she decided to toast the bagel on his gas burner. Noel however has a history of burning down convents (partially kidding), so she started recollecting this story and joking around while she was attempting to toast her bagel. Low and behold, the bagel swiftly burst into flames as she spoke. She blew it out and attempted it again on a lower flame, once again the bagel ignited, so she lowered the flame some more. I guess the saying goes: "five times a charm!" because finally, Noel achieved a perfectly gas-burner-toasted bagel. Amazing! However, in the future, we decided that this was not to be attempted at home if at all and safer means would be pursued. Though if you're about to go dancing all night and you haven't eaten in 24hrs, really, what is a girl to do?