Radical Face

Today I let my endorphins lead me astray and now my physical therapist says I must take iboprofen for two days and ice my knee before I go to bed and not run for a few days.  :(

My physical therapist is my mom.  She treats me for free. 

When your parents are really good at math and science and you have science or math related questions, you should call them.  And then do what they tell you. 

I think I need to start running with music more regularly.  I don't necessarily listen to what's playing, but the music distracts me from over-thinking my breathing, and kind of frees my brain to think about things that keep me from getting bored.  Here were some things that prevented boredom today.  They may or may not still be interesting:

1.  I like rain best when I'm allowing it to get me wet.  I know I'm going to get soaked so I don't waste energy trying to keep it from dripping from my eyelashes or running down my collar.  It becomes strangely refreshing that way.

2.  I like to look at the houses in SE Portland and guess how big their backyards are. 

3.  When I was a kid my dad thought it would be a great idea for my little brother Kyle to have a business repairing the cracked sidewalks in our neighborhood.  He could call it Kyle's Konstruction Kompany.  Oddly enough, it didn't work out. :)

4.  Being a strong, independent individual with my own interests and passions is more important to me than ever.  I firmly believe that it's healthy for my marriage.

5.  The album "Ghost" by Radical Face is such good running music.  Oh man.  SO GOOD.

Running is good for my being.  I've said that.  It bears repeating.  I've had some shitty runs lately.  But I still want to do it for days like today, where I run for an hour (before hurting myself) and it feels so natural and right and easy to figure out.  I need easy sometimes.  Life is messy and complicated.  ok, so is running.  but today it was gloriously simple.  breathe.  step.  repeat.  look at a backyard.

The Secret Garden

I am going to be in a show.  A real live honest-to-goodness-I'm-an-actor-in-Portland show.  I just got cast as Rose in The Secret Garden.  She is one of the dead moms.  Not the main dead mom, the other one. :)  I still can't believe it.

Being in a show was one of my New Year's resolutions.  BOOM.

And I'm just beginning.  I'm so fresh on the scene I might as well be a Cabbage Patch doll.  Someone tell me they had a couple of those as a kid.  I kissed mine with lipstick when I was in Jr. High and the stains have never completely rubbed off.  Whoops.

One more thing:  wine and Glee are actually the perfect companions.

Courir

I bought a big book called The Ultimate FRENCH Review and Practice.  I spent several hours sitting on the couch muttering in French under my breath and enjoying little victories every time I correctly conjugated an irregular verb without peeking at the answer key.  Il faut que j'apprenne.  Roughly translated, that says I must learn.  Learning is a necessity.  I suppose that's a given.  We have to change, have to move, have to grow.

Last night around 9pm I ran around the George Fox track.  It was cold.  I had new running pants on.  And I think something changed in me.  Before last night, I'd been operating as though this running thing was a phase.  One of those things that I'd like to keep it around, but that will probably fade out of my life, leaving me with a vague sense of loss and disappointment that I have once again failed to keep a positive habit alive.

I don't know though.  I think I may be becoming a Runner.  One of those people who need to run, who like to run, and in whose lives running is a vital puzzle piece.  I'm not there yet, but I feel myself moving in that direction.  I was running last night and half-expecting to arrive in that tired, frustrated, hurting place where I really want to walk.  I never got there.  Instead, I occasionally took stock of my body and it felt really good.  My legs were moving; my heart was pumping; I wasn't gasping for breath; I felt strong and happy.  This morning my body wasn't screaming at me.  I like this and I'm built for it.  I can and I should continue to do this good and healthy thing and I will probably be able to do it for a long time.

Today this is a new and strange thing to contemplate.  What a bizarre and wonderful turn in my life.