I’ll DRINK TO  THAT!

A very interesting study was performed at the Department of Environmental Medical  Biology, Wonju College of Medicine in the Republic of Korea in October of this year, 2009. The study involved getting laboratory rats intoxicated with ethanol and then measuring specific blood parameters in relation to the livers ability to clear the alcohol from the system. The purpose of the study was to determine if administering electrolyzed-reduced water (ERW) had any positive effect on the oxidative stress created by alcohol consumption,  more specifically, would it help speed up the recovery from a hangover! Yes, getting rats drunk and then sobering them up with alkaline, ionized, microclustered water!

Electrolyzed-reduced water or ERW, is what the water that comes out of a water ionizer machine is referred to as in the scientific literature. Reduced-water means that the oxidation potential of the water has been “reduced”. In other words, the electron stealing or free radical activity of the water has been reduced. It has been reduced because it has more electrons available than ordinary water, in other words it is now an anti-oxidant. The oxidation-reduction potential, ORP, would be negative. Free radicals steal electrons and anti-oxidants supply them. When a cut apple starts to turn brown, that is the result of a free radical, in this case oxygen,  stealing electrons from the apple and accelerating its demise. The formation of rust on metal is the same. This is the essence of the so called free radical theory of aging.

Consumption of alcohol is known to cause oxidation stress to the liver. This is a scientific fact. The oxidation stress caused by alcohol to the liver can be monitored by measuring certain liver enzymes that are released in the blood by a stressed liver. A symptom of alcohol induced liver stress is the common hangover. What was discovered in this experiment was that when ERW was administered orally to the “drunk” rats the liver enzymes associated with oxidative stress were cleared from the body at a significantly  increased rate as compared to ordinary water. The official conclusion of the study was; “These results suggest that drinking ERW has an effect of alcohol detoxification by anti-oxidant mechanism and has potentiality for relief of ethanol- induced hangover symptoms”.

Yours pHor Better Health,

Dr. Peter L. Kopko, D.C.

Chief Science Advisor

Life Ionizers

Electrolyzed-reduced water inhibits acute ethanol-induced hangovers in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Park SK, Qi XF, Song SB, Kim DH, Teng YC, Yoon YS, Kim KY, Li JH, Jin D, Lee KJ.

Department of Environmental Medical Biology, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon, Republic of Korea.

Today’s Wall Street Journal headlined a story about PepsiCo dropping its Tiger Woods-branded Gatorade drink adding that television advertisements featuring the golfer have been on hiatus since his recent extramarital revelations and car accident. Although PepsiCo claims that the absence is due to brand realignment, the specter remains: is this PepsiCo subtly distancing itself from Woods whose recent celebra-foibles have made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Woods reportedly received over a $1 billion in career earnings, making him the highest-paid athlete in history. His persona is premised upon a reputation for perfection, rising beyond mere athletics hawking everything from phone service to management consulting.

Rumors of extramarital affairs threaten to ruin, or at least tarnish, this corporate pitchman’s reputation. Not so says the blog superhype. “Tiger Woods might be in a world of hurt, but his brand is going to be just fine.” Arguing that for all Woods’ acclaimed athleticism, his public persona is bland by contrast and there isn’t an “image” to tarnish. Superhype argues that it would be different if Woods’ transgression was (a) athletic, e.g. using illicit drugs or performance-enhancing steroids, (b) less offensive to “ordinary middle-class Americans” (Superhype posits that an extramarital affair is simply too common to offend Woods’ sponsors target demographic), or (c) he was a female (again Superhype posits that “a “boys will be boys” attitude prevails when it comes to celebrities.”

Regardless of Woods’ personal brand or reputation, what is at stake is what his behavior says about the corporations that sponsor him and that engage him to endorse their products. One take away from all this for people in the sports business, is to focus on Wood’s performance and how this creates opportunities for other athletes. Moving forward, companies will have to be more careful about how they use Woods, experts said.

Ultimately, its a sticky question. Companies engage celebrities and celebrity athletes because they believe that this will influence consumer choices. Remember the “I want to be like Mike” campaign in support of Nike’s Air Jordan shoes? The subliminal message was that wearing those shoes would make you more like Michael Jordan. The question becomes, will drinking Tiger-branded Gatorade cause the perception that consumers are unfaithful in their marriages (or don’t have  a problem with it) ?

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Since Thanksgiving, we have been inundated with headlines about pro golfer Tiger Woods. Given the athlete’s silence, so much of what we have heard has been speculation, theories, rumors, pundit opinions, potential legal consequences and moral majority viewpoints. Enough already! 

We now understand that Woods was involved in an accident and reportedly sustained some minor injuries. We also know there was damage to a fire hydrant and to his personal vehicle. There was a citation issued for reckless driving, which he paid for.  Should be the end of the story, right? Well, not on our spinning planet. Was there domestic abuse? How many alleged mistresses has he been involved with? Will he lose endorsement deals? Why will he not talk?

 In all reality, I could care less. Maybe I have had it wrong all of these years, but I thought we live in a country where we are afforded a certain Right to Privacy. A country where you can choose to have one girlfriend or many. One where personal matters between a husband and wife are best kept there.  Aside from any domestic violence issues (which there has been no proof), it seems to me like a personal matter. From a legal standpoint, unless a divorce follows (again, no proof), I think people are confused between a matter of taste and a matter of law.  If Woods does decide to speak to the media, at some point, perhaps he will answer your burning questions. Until then, why don’t we just leave it alone.

Another day, another woman.

Almost two-weeks have passed since Tiger Woods’ Thanksgiving car crash and the revelations just keep on coming.

With no less than ten women alleged to have been involved in extra-curricular activities with the married pro-golfer, we take a look at the latest tally of the 31-year-olds’ score card…

1. Rachel Uchitel - The first mistress to be linked to Woods after The National Enquirer reported that she travelled to Australia to be with him during a golf tournament. The club hostess has denied an affair, but it’s widely believed that the golf-pro bought her discretion to the sum of £1 million after pulling the plug on a press conference at the last-minute, following a series of secret phone calls with Woods’ reps.

2. Jaimee Grubbs – The 24-year-old cocktail waitress, who also appeared on VH1’s Tool Academy claims she had a 31-month-long liaison with Woods since April 2007 up to his now infamous crash. Opening up to Us Weekly, she provided a voicemail recording, allegedly of Woods, calling Grubbs after fearing his wife, Elin Nordegren, had found out about their trysts.

3. Kalika Moquin – The 27-year-old, Las Vegas nightclub manager supposedly hooked-up with the golfing billionaire, according to a report by Life & Style magazine. Moquin has neither confirmed nor denied an affair, simply stating: “It’s not appropriate for me to comment one way or the other. At this time, I’m just choosing to focus on my job.”

4. Jamie Jungers - The 26-year-old cocktail waitress and aspiring model professes she had an 18-month romance with Woods after meeting him in Las Vegas. Jamie would purportedly meet the golf legend for sex at his California home where it’s claimed they would romp surrounded by wedding snaps of Woods and his wife.

5. Cori Rist – The 31-year-old swimsuit model reportedly met Woods at a Manhattan club last year before they began a sexual relationship that led to the star flying her out to various secret locations for play-time. Cori, who has even introduced the golfer to her 7-year-old son, has played her cards close to her chest since the scandal broke, only saying “No comment. Not at this time.”

6. Mindy Lawton – The 33-year-old revealed to the News of the World that she began a one-year affair with Tiger in May 2006, while his wife Elin was pregnant with their first child. According to the New York Post their ‘relationship’ was covered up by The National Enquirer two years ago, after a damning photo of Woods indiscretion with the waitress led to a Men’s Fitness cover in exchange for the magazine’s silence about the alleged affair.

7. Holly Sampson – According to The Sun, the 36-year-old porn star from Los Angeles is the seventh woman alleged to be connected with Woods. Sampson’s film work includes such jewels as Descent into Bondage and Diary of a Horny Housewife.

8. Unidentified Orlando Woman - A former cocktail waitress, she does not want to reveal her identity yet, according to attorney Michael O’Quinn. At the time the relationship supposedly began, she was 20-years-old and met Woods at the Roxy in Orlando, where she was a VIP server.

9. Unidentified British Broadcaster - Rumours continue to swirl of a hook-up between the golfer and a ’sexy’ British TV presenter who was single at the time but is now married. 

10. Unidentified ‘Cougar’ – Reports of dalliances with an older woman known so far only as a “sex-addicted cougar.”

Phew! We had to stop and eat a sandwich halfway. Of course if Woods really did dabble with all these women, then only one question remains…How did he have time to actually play golf? 

Click on the thumbnails below to check out pics of some of these home-wreckers, I mean ladies…

TIGER WOODS SPOOF on SNL

Tiger Woods ponders Oprah option

Mistress Jamie Grubbs and latest fourth mistress Jamie Jungers:

ATTORNEY:  WIFE ASK NEIGHBORS TO CALL 911

NEWS EVENTS:

I am jealous beyond words.  And VERY proud of two of my long-distance running buddies, Shelly and Kari. 

See, neither of these amazing women is particularly fond of running in the cold, icky, slushy weather.  I’m fond of it, mind you.  But them?  Not so much.

Photo Credit

So today, while Shelly was on the East Coast, she ran in a Jingle Bell 5K in the snow!  She even got a PR!  Wow!  I’m so excited for her.    And so jealous. 

And Kari, well, she ran in a Jingle Bell 5K on the West Coast, and it sounds like it was in the snow!  Again, excited!    Jealous. 

And me?  Well, they did all this while I was sleeping in. 

Just thinking about how I’m So Proud Of Both Of Them!  As I sit here in the cold-but-snowless Midwest. 

Suffering through a Rest Day. 

Running shoes beckoning me….(fingers in the ears, la la la la I’m not listening!)…practicing self-control. 

This is what vicarious running feels like.  Not so fun.  Anyway…

Shelly and Kari, you rock!  Congratulations ladies!  Celebrating with you here in the heartland.  So. Proud. Of. You!

The last thing anybody wants is another crying baby on the airplane. At least, that’s how I feel about the Tiger Woods fiasco from the last week and a half.

However, with a background in the sport, an appreciation for the skill of the tri-racial phenomenon and a general dislike for most celebrity coverage, I feel it is necessary to add some additional background noise. It is my hope that mine will be slightly more pleasing than that baby on the plane.

While there are no excuses for Tiger’s actions — his actions place him somewhere between sleazy and dog-like (if all the claims of infidelity are authentic), I struggle to digest the scores of fans that have written, called in, emailed and waxed philosophical on how he has let the world down. Sure, he is a dominant sportsman, and (as many have argued) possibly the best athlete in the world, regardless of the fact that his sport only requires the strength to swing a light metal shafted club and walk for 5 hours on perfectly manicures grounds, but should he really be a role model at all?

If it’s about skill, Tiger Woods is comparable to individuals like, well, name someone successful at what they do: Steve Jobs, guru and visionary of Apple, Bill Gates the golden boy at Microsoft, or even Donald Trump, the economically diverse magnate extraordinaire. These individuals, only a small subsection of a much larger population, may not play like Tiger Woods, but do serve as the heroes to their own slew of fans, starry-eyed hopefuls, and the greed/status obsessed public.

The difference comes when an individuals transgressions become newsworthy. David Letterman slept with his staffers, but it had nothing to do with his ability to host a Late Night broadcast. If Steve Jobs decided to join Tiger in the world of inexcusable life choices, we might read an article about it, but I doubt we would challenge or question the role that he plays within his given field of work or expertise.

The problem is that North Americans – even more so than Europeans – find it difficult to separate the man/women from the sport, and their character from their given skill. I don’t purport to know what goes on in the life and times of my favourite sportsman/women and, perhaps more importantly, I don’t have a personal relationship with most of the individuals that the world worships as celebrity. As a result, why – and how could I rationally – look up to them for anything more than the skills they display in their chosen career?

Sure, Tiger has lost all moral standing in the eyes of many. But if you are taking your relationship guidance from a man who can hit the golf ball more accurately and compile more major championships than anyone else has in history (at his age, thus far), you have definitely made a disappointing life choice.

Everyone likes perfection, and it seems in this latest example that the public will settle for the imagined perfection of a celebrity-athlete’s Hallmark card family, But people seem to forget that with celebrity comes a great deal of responsibility; not solely for the public figure, but, perhaps more importantly, for the public who holds that individual up.

Role models are not inherently bad. But ascribing the responsibility to inspire to a man with an above average capacity for sport has its own risks. Bad choices can be made on both ends; the obvious mistakes made by Mr. Woods, and the mistaken worship of a legion of fans ignorant to (or at least unwilling to) accept the shared human capacity for being a dick.

Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WCFTKI5lu4

Athlete is a band I’ve been following for a while now. They’ve had some amazing songs in th last few years. Among them: Wires (the first song I heard by them on One Tree Hill), Tourist, Twenty-four Hours, Westside, Tokyo and my favourite Hurricaine. This English band has an amazing sound and they consistently deliver. Check out all the songs. You will not be disappointed.

Lyrics here, more below:
I waded through the darkest fields you’d imagine
Your pretty face sketched on the barrel of my gun
And I know you’ll be the first to welcome me
When I climb into eternity
Oh, oh

The forest kept us warm
Bur it doesnt feel like home anymore
And I know there’s bigger mountains where you are
And a better climate for my heart
Oh,oh

I’ve been racing the clock
And I’ve run out of steem
I am ready for my final symphony
Oh my body is weak
But my soul is still strong
I am ready to rest in your arms

Though many battles I have won
I lost too many friends I could count on
And I know they’ll be the first to welcome me
When I parachute into eternity
Oh, oh

I’ve been racing the clock
And I’ve run out of steam
I am ready for my final symphony
Oh my body is weak
But my soul is still strong
I am ready to rest in your arms

And the rain beat down on the rooftops
But there was no sound,
There was no sound
And all my friends and familly carried me
They carried me home
Carried me home

I’ve been racing the clock
And I’ve run out of steam
I am ready for my final symphony
Oh my body is weak
But my soul is still strong
I am ready to rest in your arms
I’ve been racing the clock
And I’ve run out of steam
I am ready for my final symphony
Oh my body is weak
But my soul is still strong
I am ready to rest in your arms
Oh, oh

This is a beautifully dark song. Almost feels like a song about AIDS but could be any disease or even conflict depending on your view. The ‘lost too many friends’ is a touching bit of pain. The gun symbolizes the end of his own suffering. And I love that he knows they’ll all be there to greet him. And it is easy to imagine he wants to rest in God’s arms. Everything about the words and music are brilliant.

(To see the video in HD click on Vimeo)

In what has become something of a Christmas tradition in London in recent years, last night saw the first night of Super Busking in Covent Garden.  The premise is pretty simple, instead of seeing the normal street performers in Covent Garden, during the Christmas season well known singers and bands take to the street and start busking for charity.

Each act is only announced two hours before they’re due to take to Covent Garden and perform.  Last night was the first for this year and saw the band Athlete perform to the christmas shopping crowds.  Other acts due to perform this year are The Saturdays, Jamie Cullum, the Stereophonics and the Feeling.

Of course, this is all for Charity and this year the Charity is Crisis, the homeless charity that does excellent work throughout the country.  If you want to donate to Crisis just head over to their website www.crisis.org.uk

I wonder what the difference is in benching a star college athlete for a DUI for the championship game and benching a NFL player for the super bowl. It cannot be age because both are of an age to get a DUI. It must be the money. I get it! College athletes are not paid! Right!!! Maybe keeping your job might have something to do with it as a NFL coach is more likely to lose it if he were to follow thru and discipline a player. If character matters then the level of the athletic playing field should not matter.

First get this:

• The following effect posture
• Eyes (the first info your brain gets)
• Inner ears (balance)
• Proprioception (how your body internally organizes and sees itself)
• Posture is important because working out or performing a sport requires perfect form to complete the task!

Now this:

• Eye positions help you move
• Eyes up = extension
• Eyes down = flexion
• Eyes right = rotation to right
• Eyes left = rotation to left

Consider this:

• Up to 70% of postural control comes from the eyes.
• Movements are patterned and chunked along with eye muscle activity.

The Postural Reactions to Eye Positions (PREP) test finds correct or incorrect movement patterns associated with eye positions. This means when instructed to look 1 of 4 directions the body should move in the direction of the eye position. One testing round has eyes open, another has eyes closed.

If there is a positive test result; the body doesn’t react or reacts in opposition to eye position we “train” that eye position while we move. My lovely client, Peggy, tested my PREP and found eyes open, eyes left lacked a reflexive movement in my posture.

I applied the eye position to my workout; front squats and leg extensions. I felt energized, strong and explosive during workout. After workout I felt like I could go right back into it all over again. I wasn’t tired or sore even though I added weight to each set.

I walked into rehab this morning ready for a fresh start. Although it was a grueling two hour session, I felt as if all of the hard work was finally starting to pay off.  My trainer noticed a huge difference when I moved my arm, and I could feel my shoulder begin to move the way it had before my surgery.  I know that I should not get TOO excited about this progress, but it still makes me smile.  It is safe to say that I did NOT feel any improvements before Thanksgiving break, so for me, this is a HUGE step.

I have approximately 3 weeks until I leave for Christmas break, and as I think back on this semester, I can safely say that I have learned a lot about myself.  Yes, I am angry, miserable, exhausted and frustrated, but I am still alive, so clearly I have the ability to keep on pushing through, regardless of the emotions.  Like Andre Agassi said, “Life will throw everything but the kitchen sink in your path, and then it will throw the kitchen sink.”  This statement has many meanings, but I interpret it as there are things in life you cannot avoid, but it is important to learn how to deal with what obstacles come your way.  Once you can learn how to accomplish this, you can live a positive and meaningful life.  Although I did not have a great start to my senior year, I think that next semester is full of new beginnings.  I am ready to put these semester setbacks behind me.  I have three weeks of hell before break, but once break arrives I can start over.

Have you ever heard the quote, “Everything happens for a reason?”  I have always believed this statement, and I think that this surgery happened for a reason.  I have grown stronger mentally and physically, and learned important life lessons.  I am very close to the end of my college career, but I am ready to begin a new chapter in my life.  Although I am not sure exactly why surgery had to happen at this point in my career, I am almost positive it is for a reason.

So, for these next 3 weeks, I am going to live through rehab hell knowing that once break comes I can put these setbacks behind me, and finish my last semester as a senior the way I had imagined it to be.

Eye of the tiger

Jocky Wilson rose to stardom during the golden era of darts.  it was a moment in time when a bunch of overweight, drunk, chain smoking blokes were referred to as ‘athletes’.  By 1989 darts had emerged from the dingy, beer sodden, smoke filled pubs of England onto the glittering stage of prime time television.

Who will ever forget the final moments of the 1989 World Championship when Jocky Wilson, smelling of fags and perspiring larger, tossed the winning dart.  He is much admired by so many….good luck Jocky.

Just a little heads up!

The girls are doing great.  I haven’t mentioned them in a while because we are on our off- season. Right now, everyone is happy, somewhat healthy and rested. Everyone is training hard to get back for spring season and for the kickoff Harvard match at the end of January! Wish us luck!

Telegram.com – A product of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

In today’s local Sunday Telegram, I read an article about professional football player Drew Brees.  Brees is the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, and in 2005 he tore his labrum and suffered from a partially torn rotator cuff.  This injury came at a terrible time (as it always does), and Brees became a free agent.  He was picked up by the Saints who, at the time, had a 3-13 record.

Brees worked extremely hard to get back.  The article explains that there were times in minicamps where he could not throw, and he still was not 100% during training camp.  Clearly this did not stop him because he has twice led the NFL in passing yards since his arrival in New Orleans, and he has 110 touchdown passes.  He also led the league with 34 TD tosses last season and he is currently first with 22 this season.  After his injury, he became one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.  To summarize-he’s doing great.

It just shows that it is possible to come back and play even better than you did before the injury.  Injuries happen, but with the right preparation, rehab and hard work you will be back.  This is a great article for anyone who is struggling with rehab because Brees’ injuries were severe, and he was still able to come back stronger than ever.  For me, it helps to read about his accomplishments and know that there is a light at the end of a long tunnel.

So here’s the thing. 

I had this whole post planned with the title:  You Don’t Expect Me to Run Up THAT, Do You?  And the post was about the Wild Wild Wilderness Run hosted by the Kennekuk Road (and must.not.forget.the.TRAIL) Runners a couple months ago. 

That trail featured 7.55 miles of pure running torture.  (So terrible that I plan on running it again in the arctic weather we surely can expect during the Sibearn Express on January 2, 2010.)  Seriously, though.  It was terrible.  There was a nearly vertical hill that only mountain goats or really nimble deer should ever be expected to climb, one that hugged an earth wall and where a single step to the left would leave a person pummeling hundreds of yards to their demise in a thornbush-infested ravine.  There were three or four miles of challenging, but bearable terrain that initiated the uninitiated WWW trail runner.  Then (surprise, newbie!) the turn-off to the hill-from-hell.  Only to be followed by three or four miles more  of Really. Hard. Trail Running. 

Now, I love running hills.  But these weren’t people-hills.  They were animal-only hills.  And those super-runners who could just prance up them with ease–well, I’m astounded by those people.  They need a special category of fitness just for them.

As for me, I was so proud of Finishing Without Dying that I floated along on that experience for quite some time.  It mattered very little to me that I was near the Very End of the pack.  I was thrilled beyond words to have finished on my feet instead of a stretcher.

So that was the essence of the post I was going to write.  Because that was the craziest trail I’d run so far.  Until today.

Today I was introduced, quite accidentally, to the Backpack Trail at Forest Glen.  I personally believe they call this the Backpack Trail because most normal humans would need to bring camping supplies (or at least a meal!) in order to traverse the sucker, because it takes SO LONG and is SO HARD to finish this monster of a trail.

Now the introduction to the trail was only partially accidental, I confess.  Because I planned to do the 4.5 mile trail.  You know, the ”this-11-mile-trail-intimidates-me-so-I-want-a-shorter-version-of-the-Backpack-Trail” trail.  What I did NOT plan to do was the 11 mile version of the Backpack Trail. 

Had I completed the 4.5 mile version, I’d still have had plenty of material to share with you, believe-you-me.  But the fact that just one teensy-weensy turn to the left rather than the right had us move our bodies over 11 miles of terrain instead of 4.5 miles is just plain wicked.  Indeed, we made the left vs. right decision because some Very Helpful (sadistic) Campers advised us that everyone had headed toward the left.  Thank you campers. 

What followed was an adventure that my two running buddies and I certainly had not anticipated.  We were told that we’d be heading over a creek.  Indeed, we headed over multiple creeks.  “Creek” is a highly subjective term, apparently.  I’m thinking, it’s a little thing you can hop over.  Nope.  It’s several big things that, even if you don’t fall off the slippery rocks that pose as steps across the current, you’re going to be wading in the water at least up to your ankles.  (Before you Florida readers think me a wimp, now, please remember that it was 33 degress when I got in the car to drive to this adventure!). 

And there were hills.  So many hills.  This trail wasn’t playing.  And let’s not forget that it’s been raining for, like, 952 days straight here in Central Illinois, so it was Mud City everywhere we went.  Read that:  No Traction.  Slip-N-Slides are fun when you’re eight and in your front yard with your neighbor buddies.  When you’re 43 years-old and trying to find footing climbing up a Monster Mud Hill, there are few humans that would call the exercise fun. 

Indeed, as we got to the bottom of our 382nd hill (perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but not much) we stopped thinking, “surely this is the last big hill we have to deal with” and started thinking, “surely this stinking trail has to end at some point.” 

Who knew that any trail, anywhere in the known universe could have So Many Gigantic Up’s and Gigantic Downs?  One after the other.  (Of course, happily interspersed with flowing creeks throughout.)

And the downhills.  I believe they were even worse than the uphills.  I’d always had the strategy of running on the downhills whenever possible.  It’s just that it was Very Rarely possible on this Sadist Trail.  The first bad boy that we faced, I remember clearly thinking that we’d taken a wrong turn.  People aren’t supposed to go straight down hills that steep with NO earth on either side.  Just a little mountain goat path straight down with an occasional tree mercifully situated for holding-on-for-dear-life on the downward descent.  I remember thinking after that first hill that the worst was behind us.  HA HA HA HA HA.  No.

All three of us in our brave little what-in-the-blazes-are-we-doing-out-here-without-a-GPS-or-a-cell-phone party fell nicely on our touckases at least once during the adventure.  We kept a good eye-out for each other and never got too far apart while out there.   We learned the difference between a shriek of  “Woo Hoo!” (“We’re awesome!  Look what we’re doing!”) and a shriek of “Woo Hoo!” (“Heaven help me, I’ve just fallen into the biggest mud pit in a five state region!”).  We learned the difference between this-hurts and this-sucks-but-let’s-keep-going-because-we-still-have-daylight.  And we most certainly learned to love the signs with the little red arrows and how to look for the red splotches on lots of trees. 

Most of all, we learned that there was more within us than any of us bargained for when we set out to Forest Glen for a little run one cold Saturday morning in November.  We learned we could do it.  At least for me, I surprised myself that I could do it.  And any one of us could have gone the 13.1 half marathon distance–so we learned that we were able to do that too!  I had another chance to give one something that had intimidated me a beat-down.  And we were blessed with the commraderie, the friendship, that comes from battling those stinking hills and creeks and elements together. 

Overall, it certainly was a day worth having.  Maybe even a day worth repeating.  A great adventure by some unlikely adventurerers.  And a great achievement by some tough-as-nails women who, though total newbies, were ready and willing to give it our all.  And we did. 

Three other Very Important Points: 

1.  Hats off to the Kennekuk Road (and Trail) Runners who gave every one of us a round of applause as we staggered off the trail.  These Super Runners had been done for well over an hour, but were still glad to cheer on the lost-little-newbies that somehow finished that 11 mile beast without dying! 

2.  My trail shoes are now officially trail shoes.  Here’s the after picture: 

Shoes: AFTER

3.  WW Activity Points mean I can EAT after today.  Yes!

4.  I’m certain I’ve forgot to mention much more than what’s been said here already.  I’m sure you’ll get more tidbits as the days and weeks move on…

For now, here’s proof of the mud: 

Muddy!

And proof of the buds:

We Made It!

I may not have previously mentioned this, but my father also had shoulder surgery a few years back.  Unlike me, he actually fell from a ladder and landed on our icey driveway while attempting to put up a wreath for Christmas.  He had extensive, reconstructive surgery that forced him to be in a sling for approximately 6 weeks, and he had to rehab for at least a year.  To this day, he does not have full rotation, but has worked really hard to get to where he is today.  I remember he would lie on the floor and my mother would physically push his arm as hard as possible, regardless of the pain.  This constant rehab is what got my father where he is today.  Like me, this shoulder surgery took a lot out of my father.  He is very athletic, loves to run and work out, and without these outlets in his life he would be miserable.

When I was told that I needed surgery, my father truly understood what I was going through.  I definitely had a hard time talking about it because I had it in my head that surgery would be fine, rehab would be manageable, and I would be back playing tennis in a few months.  He always told me that this is what he HOPES will happen, but it is unlikely, with my injuries, that I could see success with rehab at the rate I hoped. He did warn me about this, but I chose to ignore his advice (like children always do ).

Now that I am home for the first time during my rehab, my parents have been able to witness everything.  Before coming home, I was given a set schedule by my trainer to follow at least 3 times during break. All I see is the image of my father on the floor in pain while rehabbing and think that this is the only way I will be back, and how far I actually have left to go.

So, I decided that I would only let my father help me rehab because he truly understood everything.  Although we may not talk about it, I know that he understands the emotions, he gets the pain, and he knows what it is like to be an athlete and not be able to compete.  When I first got home, my mother commented that my shoulder looked “underdeveloped” clearly showing that I have a lot of work to do.  I was miserable, not because of what she said but because of the reality of my situation-I have a long way to go.

While my dad gripped my arm and pulled it to 90 degrees, all I could think about was what he went through, and then now what I am going through.  After having him say that I was making progress, I believed him.  This break was good for me because I think I made more progress in the past 5 days than I have in the past few weeks emotionally and physically.

No words can actually describe this post, but it makes me believe there are good people out there, even celebrities/athletes. I became aware of this story a little over a month ago on Nancy Grace. All it took was one look at Shaniya Davis’ face to capture me. Shaniya was found dead on a side of a road in Fayetteville, NC. At the age of five years old, Shaniya was raped and murdered. Her mother was charged with child prostitution! It angers me to even write that! I hope she gets what she deserves behind bars! 

Shaq was touched by this little girls story and payed for her funeral service which was an estimated $4500. O’neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, “I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye.”

I am at a loss for words for this post, Shaniya’s story touched many people across the country and Shaq didn’t have to do anything, he didn’t know them.But Shaq has a heart and thought with it! I am not a follower of basketball, he’s not my “favorite basketball player” however he is my favorite for thinking of a family who was less fortunate.