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.