Patience; the new endurance sport.

I never mention it here, but because of something I Josse Said, I think I'll mention it.  Although all I ever write about is the running, the core strengthening and stretching I do is equally important. After every run, I do 300 sit ups (50 for each ab group, starting from the bottom up) and 80 push ups, then I hold an elbow plank for 1 minute.  I walked 3 miles on Sunday, and spent an hour on the stationary yesterday morning.  It's slow going with the hip.  But the internal torque, twist I learned while running has been an essential took to both speed and recovery.  I have to rant to day about how much I hate the lung association.  Everything I do with the car donation program, they do. I started the Kidney Kar donation program in 1991, they started one in 1994.  I use Bronco Mendenhall and Kyle Whittinghame, they use LaVell Edwards, I use a 1968 red VW bug, they use a 1966 red Mustang, I give away free prizes, they give away free prizes.  No one give kidney patients in Utah money for diaysis or a kidney transplant, or fund medical research-- but the Kidney Foundation--all by private donations. But Lung is funded by a huge anti-tobacco settlement and government funding.   Theyt spend irrepsonsible amounts of money on advertising.  In the meantime

, Kidney Foundation is all individual donations, almost completely reliant upon the car donation program-- we pride ourselves in not applying for Goverment funding. Just because I have no where else to rant publically I have to do it here.  The Kidney Kars donation program spends the least on advertising/overhead, gives the most $ to programs/patients/research and has the best program in Utah (The program I run is one of the top 3 in the country).  I recently did "Car Donation" segmenets for expert village: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/164945_donate-car-kidney-foundation.htm

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/164941_donate-car-utah.htm

So if you have a car to donate, please give it to the KIDNEY FOUNDATION -- www.towkars.org

Thank you. Now I feel better.

I've worked harder in the past month than I have in about 2 years.  It was already comletely dark outside when I ran at 5:30 this afternoon.  Fueled by manic exhaustion and controlled rage over the past week, I was less afraid of being assaulted on the shadowy dark trail, than I was of continuing my home life in tone and timber of my work day. I desperately needed to be outside.  I had one hour while my kids were at Piano lessons.  The fuel in my emotional tank from Saturday's run was getting dangerously low.  The trail at night with only a sliver of a moon occassinally peeking out from behind the clouds is a new experience.  Sometimes I walk it late at night when there's been fresh snow. The whiteness reflects the moon light and turns the trail into a dark tined version of the day world I love those nights.  But tonight was pitch.  The river sounded louder to me because of it. Anyway, I felt extremly lucky to have that one hour this afternoon to myself to switch the gears between one form of slavery to the next.  

AM run on the treadmill. My hip has been bothering me again. I think I've been running too fast and too much in the past 2 weeks--it doens't seem possible to go slower, or run less. But I've got to if I ever want my hip to get better. My really good friends, who are both doctors (married to each other) came from Illinois this week to visit me. I talked to them about my hip, and they both agreed I should have gone in for the cortisone shots a month ago.  Hmmm.  I did that to my foot when I had plantar facsitis a couple of years ago and I'd sooner have another baby before I do that again.  That's how painful it was. I actually broke into a cold sweat and hyperventilated while they were injecting my foot (a big long needle going right into the soft part of the bottom of my foot).  My doctor friends assured me the hip injections are much less painful.  I'll give one more round to the quack-o-practer (my uncle) again this week, and will try to ride the bike more than run before I throw myself onto a cortisone shot.  But if the pain continues like it did this week, I'll just go for it if it offers some relief while I heal.  P.S.  Anyone seen the snow? I'm freaking out that there is no snow.   I was skiing by this time last year (I know it was a lucky year, but stilll). Skiing hard is great 'cross training' in my book.

It was such a beautiful outside run, but it felt like November. The past few Saturdays down by the lake I've been spotting a huge, and beautiful hawk. He sits in the tippy tops of the leafless trees and looks down on me as I progress along the trail by the lake. Then he'll open up his huge wings and soar to the next tree to continue looking down on me as I run along. My Dad loved hawks and owls. Today, while I was looking upward at this hawk, eyes locked in a mutual gaze, I was overcome with the idea this hawk was my father looking down on me. I know it's not true, but I actually had to stop running and cry about it for a second. I miss him. Especially around his birthday in early November through Christmas.

Anyone remember Shrinky Dinks?  They were thick plastic sheets you colored on, then cut out the figures, then stuck them in the oven, and then they shrank to about half their original size?  Well, that's what my hamstrings do in the cold. I go outside, and it's as if they retract, completely. I focused the whole run on my stride, and controlled upper body torque.  The posture sure helps the hip, but it's hard to remember to stay in form.  I did the bike for 1 hour yesterday, and will have to do it again tommorrow morning to keep the hip in check.  I want to visit my Uncle (the chiopracter) one more time, and let one more week go by before getting the cortisone shots.  I don't want to do it. But it's wrong inside that hip, and has been since three days before St. George Marathon.  I saw my hawk today again on the trail.  We looked at each other for a while.  He was in the treetops, closer to the house than the lake.  After a few mintues he spread those huge wings and took off, soaring over the pasture to some far off trees. He's so beautiful.  It reminds me of a song....

I wish  I could be like a bird in the sky
how sweet it would be if I found  I could fly
Oh I'd soar up to the sun and look down at the sea
and I'd sing 'cause I'd know how it feels to be free -- Nina Simone

I did an hour on the stationary bike yesterday morning, and then walked an extra two miles in the evening.  Catherine brought new episodes of Alias-- and while I find the whole thing preposterous and the show never appealed to me when it was airing--I find running on the treadmill a breeze while I'm watching it.  I sailed through 5 miles this morning and everytime I mentally checked in on my posture I was doin' fine.  My hip, with the exception of stretching that hamstring twice today, feels pretty good. I hope to get in 6 on Saturday.  Catherine's come back to my side of the trail. Yay.  I've only got 2 more choir practices before the Christmas perfomance. I love to sing, and they let me sing, they don't even complain very much about my singing. But I promsie you I am the loudest, worst singer, in the whole group (of about 100).  Isn't it sad? Because we all know the WORST singer, is also the LOUDEST.  It's the one singer that makes it so you can't hear anyone else singing.  So there I stand on that back row with a supremely voiced soprano-- her angelic throaty aria carrying the heavy melody into the heavens-- while I stand at her side screetching out a descant -- and smiling like a cheshire cat.       

I ran 4 on the trail with Cath in the most amzingly wintery bluster. Tiny sharp snow shards cuttinginto our eyeballs at like 40 mph.  Poor Catherine had a cold anyway, it was a miserable run.  In addition, Catherine won't be running for a good while, so it was sad her last one was such misery. I came home and did another 2 on the treadmill while it poured snow the rest of the morning.

Treadmill/Alias Day.

Ran outside during lunch on the N. end of the trail while it snowed and snowed.  I came back with a cap of white which melted into my hair.  I looked crazy the rest of the day.  But that's ok, I am crazy.  At least I'm not false advertising.

I did the stationary bike two days in a row to rest my hip, which will never heal until I get cortisone shots.  I've been fasting for a few days and so needed to take it easy.  So this 3 on the treadmill was a devotional to running, but minimum effort.

I wish, like the bikers, that I could record skiing miles.  Cause I probably could record about 500 since last week.  Not running, but great for the quads anyway.