Several months ago, my brother-in-law in Orlando called me and asked if I'd be available in December to watch his daughters, my two nieces E (three yrs.) and T (one yr.). He was planning a surprise trip to New York City for my sister, and he wanted to have childcare plans in place. The girls would stay with my mom, in Mount Dora, and I would help watch them. I agreed with enthusiasm, as I was excited to get to spend an extended amount of time with these two particular nieces, whom I usually only see for holidays and birthdays. Here is what I learned from the experience: Snot flows regularly from little children. Like a faucet that won't shut off. Sometimes, tears and drool flow along with the snot, usually onto an adult's shoulder/neck/chest/hand. And if you do manage to control the drainage up top, you'll inevitably have an overflow of stuff coming out the other end to deal with.  At one point before the weekend, I remember thinking that the care-taking shouldn'...

This morning I ran four miles at about a 10:30 pace. It was not easy, and I did feel some residual pain (not from the calf injury , but from shin splints), but it's four miles I couldn't run a month ago. I'm grateful for that. I actually started back running several weeks ago, after a nine-week break, and I had about three successful four-to-five-mile runs, and then on my next run I felt pain in my left leg and thought it was my calf injury letting me know it was still there. I was pretty disappointed about that, but then when I was telling a friend about the pain, and how it was a little different than what I'd experienced before, he said it sounded like shin splints. Now, I'm no stranger to shin splints, as I'd trained through them for the Chicago Marathon, but it simply hadn't occurred to me that I was feeling something new; my mind just went straight the injury. And because the soleus muscle (which I'd injured) is really close to the tendon where ...

This weekend I did something pretty far outside of my comfort zone--well two things, really: camping, and trail riding. I accompanied my friend Cameron to the SWAMP Alafia Fat Tire Festival at Alafia River State Park . Here's how it went down: The Night Ride Friday evening after work, I drove out to the park, farther away from society than I've been in Florida. Part of Cameron's directions to me read as follows:  " Stay on CO672 for a long time. Like 10 -15 miles. Enjoy the amazing scenery, like the landfill and Bob's Dirt Pile. Road deadends at a hole in the wall gas station. Turn left. You'll see Alafia State Park on your right."  We immediately prepped for night ride, which would be my introduction to trail riding. My lighting was not exactly sufficient--I had a front light and tail light, but no headlamp, so I had to make sure to sandwich myself between well-lit riders. I really had no idea what to expect. I knew there would be a trail cut in ...

This past weekend was one of great joy peppered with moments of sadness. It was my birthday weekend, but it was also the weekend I had previously planned to be in D.C. to run the Marine Corps Marathon. While I'd somewhat made peace with the fact that I wouldn't be able to run the marathon, due to injury, I knew that the actual race day, the same as my birthday, would tug a bit at my heart strings. But I was lucky enough to stay occupied with birthday activities all weekend long, with only a couple of intermissions in which to take my quiet time to be alone and just feel sad. The weekend started off with birthday coffee with a friend at the Oxford Exchange . This is a new venue in Tampa, basically downtown, that houses a coffee shop, a tea shop, a bookstore, a home goods store, a restaurant, and rentable upstairs meeting space. The building is historic, located across from the University of Tampa campus. The coffee and tea vendors that occupy the building just happen t...

I don't pretend to know much about Reiki . What I knew before going into this session was that it was a form of energy healing of Eastern origin, based on the body's chakra system . Throughout my injury, I've done every kind of hands-on treatment I could think of or read about, but it occurred to me that there was another source of healing I hadn't tapped into: energy medicine. Actually, my aunt Pattie is the person who suggested Reiki early on in my injury when I posted about it on Facebook. Only later did it occur to me that I had a friend who was a Reiki master and practitioner. So I asked her if she'd be able to give me a session. She happily obliged, and we set a date. I had my session a couple of hours ago, and this is what my experience was like: First, it was a casual meeting, as Melissa and I had known each other for years, and we met in my office and closed the door. She sat across from me and put her hands up, palms facing my body, and pretty much s...

Yesterday morning I did something I hadn't done in exactly one year and one day: I attended an Ashtanga yoga class. For a number of reasons--chief among them the priority that marathon training took in my life, but also the lack of offering at my preferred studio--I stopped going to a regular Ashtanga class. But I often missed it. So I was very excited that "my" yoga studio, Bella Prana , announced last week that they'd be offering Ashtanga classes twice per week. Further, I'd taken my only Ashtanga classes with the two instructors who happened to be staffing the new classes, so I had two happy reunions to look forward to. The Sunday class was taught by Eric Wheeler, who is special to me because he is the instructor who ignited in me a deeper interest in and appreciation for yoga. Way back in the days when he taught at the USF Rec Center (2005-06 or so), I would attend his class with the intention of getting a physical practice, but he helped open my mind to yo...

Monday I posted that I had made my decision about whether to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon, and that my decision was to go. But last night, I came to my senses. (This is pretty much how all the days since my injury have gone--I will go, I won't go, I will, I won't...) I've been unbelievably stressed over this decision and over trying to train effectively for a marathon when I CAN'T RUN. In retrospect, the decision should have been more obvious to me, but I suppose a lot of things look better in retrospect. Further, I'm also planning to run a marathon in mid-January, and it just occurred to me how little time I'll have to train for it even if I don't go to MCM. If I did go to MCM, I'd undoubtedly be taking time away from healing my leg, and then I'd be in this same "should I run or should't I" predicament for that marathon. That's not what I want. But as a good friend pointed out to me last night, I have to commit to...