Date Workout Miles Avg Pace Monday, 7/21 Regular Run 4 9:24 Tuesday, 7/22 Regular Run 5 9:21 Wednesday, 7/23 Regular Run 4 9:19 Thursday, 7/24 Regular / Speed  4.38 / 3 9:26 / 9:17 Friday, 7/25 Rest 0 -- Saturday, 7/26 Long Run 13 10:02 Sunday, 7/27 Mini Strength-Train 0 -- Total Weekly Mileage: 33.38 (that's .38 miles more than I needed!) Normally, I would start a training plan with Week 1; however, given my special circumstances , I was pretty much out for the count during my first "official" week of training. So I started with Week 2 and tried really hard to catch up. To my own amazement, I did. At this point, I'm really just running the miles, hence all of the Regular Runs. Even my attempt at a "speed" run wasn't very speedy. But I forgive myself--for now. I spent a week after my surgery not doing any exercise at all and also eating less than usual because it was just too difficult. So when I tried to come back to a full week of...

Pain is life--the sharper, the more evidence of life. --Charles Lamb I've been experiencing a lot of "life" lately. For the past year, I've struggled to get a diagnosis for pain that I've felt on and off, and almost daily for the past seven months. I first noticed the pain around my left ear, and then on the back left side of my tongue and sometimes along my left jaw, and more recently into my head and sinus area. I went to my dentist, who referred me to an oral surgeon, who referred me to an ENT. Next, I went to three different ENTs who could not find anything wrong with me. I subjected myself to many frightening medical tests, halfway hoping to find something, halfway not. I did not. I decided after my last disappointing ENT visit that I had nerve pain, possibly a neuralgia (this was based on meager suggestions from ENTs, and the Internet, of course). I went to a neurologist, who ordered more tests, just when I thought there were no more that could possibly ...