Healthy thoughts

I just briefly mentioned on previous post another reason to dislike New York: the large amount of people smoking over you. Probably this is just an impression resultant of so many people crowding Manhattan, but the fact is I am not as exposed to cigarette smoking here in LA. Even worse: for the whole 26.2 miles of the New York City Marathon I had at least ten times smokers throwing their air pollutants over the runners; approximately at mile 25 there was a guy smoking cigars at the race course! Maybe I am being too sharp, but that came to me as a disrespect to all runners, not to mention public health.

Talking about health, the day before New York City Marathon I had a trauma to my right shin caused by my luggage, and that created a very painful shin splint, felt only after the race, until two days ago. For the first five days after the race I could not walk properly, and only now I have stretched enough and recovered my balance. A wonderful realization was to learn that exercise accelerated my recovery, through spinning and treadmill training, avoiding excessive load on the legs. It is always nice to see that my body takes better care of itself than I do.

Mental health was another issue this week. The concerns of being injured, together with pain at every step lasting more than three days threatened my sanity. My plans on running Pasadena Marathon this weekend were put aside, even because the race was sold out while I waited to register after my recovery was evident. The urge to sit and plan my next year schedule has started to cause me nightmares, and this probably will make me busy next weekend. Only the idea of a new sprint triathlon in two weeks (the Turkey Tri) and Vineman Ironman 70.3 on next July can make me forget my current frustrations and push me forward.

Talking about happiness, the current streak of victories of the Trojans and the NY Giants have an important role, but what fills my soul and blows my mind is Brian Melekian and his journey to Ironman Arizona. To read the posts on his blog is always inspiring, even though his numbers show me I still have a lot of work to do. Now he just launched his online coaching website. It is an honor to know he reads my blog. For all these next days and during the race on November 23rd you can bet all my good thoughts and strong energy will be with him.

Feeling well again comes together with the joys of the Holidays, and the hope of an even better year. Tomorrow I will participate for the second time in Run for Her, a 5K race to raise awareness and funds to support ovarian cancer research, as part of my sprint triathlon training. I have started again to be able to plan ahead and project goals, and this is my healthiest state of mind.

Next races: Run for Her 5K (11/16/08), Turkey Tri (11/30/08), Surf City USA Marathon (02/01/09), Vineman Ironman 70.3 (07/19/09).

Hero of the week: Lance Armstrong. He is the inevitable hero; well-accomplished, gifted and well-spoken. Above any criticism and all the media, he is able to catch the public attention to important issues and his cause. He managed to be a landmark to whom athletes compare themselves, for better or worse...

Quote of the week: “If you leave the smallest corner of your head vacant for a moment, other people's opinions will rush in from all quarters”

George Bernard Shaw.