A Letter to my Brother.

Today I run for you. I run fast because I know that if you were running with me it would be a race, a competition. We are such rivalrous siblings you and I! Of course you would win. You have always been a gifted athlete, you still are. But I also know you would wait for me at the end...and you wouldn’t think any less of me in my loss.

Where are you? Of course I know where you are physically. But emotionally? Mentally? I try to imagine. The images that come to me are of us as children: you about six years old, golden and freckle faced, me the older sister at nine years. We are at the beach building sand castles with Gill which as you know always ends up with us burying you in the sand.  Remember that? You were always such a good sport whenever we ganged up on you.

I know you are lost somewhere in a dark pit of hurt and despair. Sadly, a place you’ve been to many times before and I often wonder if mom were still here would you have taken a different path in life? Would you have outgrown the demons that have left you emotionally stunted and scarred? Would you be better equipped to handle the peaks and valleys of every day life?

As I run my eyes are blurred and my face is wet with tears. It’s hard to see the path ahead of me and I think this is what it must be like for you right now. The way is unclear. But I also feel a gamut of other emotions: fear for you, anger at you, and confusion about you. Why do you continue, time after time, to go down the same path of despair and destruction?

As I wind my way home, I hope and pray that you will be able to find your way back again. And as my feet move swiftly, I am conscious of unloading the negative: the fear, the anger, the disappointment, the confusion. I pray not only for you but also for me...to be released from the prison of my own feelings and thoughts, to replace them with love and light, and to share your load until it becomes weightless in the distribution.

Today I ran for you, brother, and I ran a personal best.

Weird Science and Wacky Fixes

No, really, this is a serious blog entry. Today I was running, and so was my nose. Why does my nose run faster than my feet when I run? This is a good question and so I went on a Google research expedition to find some answers about my most perplexing body issues. Here's what I found:


Why does my nose run as fast as my feet? 


A runny nose, a condition called exercise-induced rhinitis, is most likely due to the increased air flow; as your breathing rate increases, your nose kicks into hyperactivity. Cool and dry air—or both—have been shown to increase secretions similar to that of exercise-induced asthma. If you're as self-conscious about your drippy schnoz as I am, know you're not alone: A 2006 study, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, surveyed 164 exercisers and found that 40 percent had a runny nose while exercising inside, and 56 percent had one outside.


Running Rx: Don't worry about it, stuff your pockets with tissues and perfect your farmer's blow.


Why do my legs shake after a long hard run?


If your rubbery, burned-out gams had a fuel gauge, it would be firmly on "E." Sometimes the needle hits "empty" as a result of sheer effort. If your muscles aren't familiar with a new movement, they become inefficient at contracting and can't work in a coordinated manner, which results in shaking. Or, it could be that you started too quickly. If you go out too hard, the oxidative system doesn't kick in as smoothly as it does when you warm up and work up to a good pace. It's a bit like shifting gears too quickly in a car. You deplete your energy levels prematurely. The other cause is simply that your muscles are depleted of electrolytes and glycogen—easily accessible fuel on which they run—and the shaking is their way of telling you to "fill 'em up".


Running Rx: Pre-run, warming up is the key. Start slow, and ease into your ultimate pace. If you're running hard for more than 45 minutes, drink eight ounces of a sports drink about 20 minutes before you run; the carbs will keep your muscles humming. Post-run, if you're trying to shake the shakes, walk around, stretch gently, and grab quick fuel, like a sports drink.

Why do my legs twitch in bed at night after a long run?


If your legs are still moving when you're under the covers after a long run or a late soccer game, chances are you skimped on a post-run meal. Working hard and sweating causes the excretion of a lot of sodium and calcium, two electrolytes that are responsible for muscle relaxation. And being iron deficient, especially for women, can also contribute.


Running Rx: Get up and head to the kitchen for a glass of milk and some pretzels. To stave off future problems, make sure to include dairy, salt, and iron, found in lean red meat and spinach, in your meals after a run.




Why do my bending knees sound like Rice Krispies when I walk down the stairs?


Snap, crackle, pop? Crepitus, the medical term, happens when cartilage, the connective tissue between bones, starts to age. We all start life with quiet, smooth cartilage between our kneecaps and thigh bones, but over time, it becomes gray and old and doesn't regenerate; most people older than age 30 have some mild crepitus. Weak quads or a tight IT band can pull the kneecaps out of alignment and exacerbate the wear and tear. Your knees pipe up when they bend past 30 degrees because the kneecap tracks into a groove in your femur—that is, cartilage-weak bone grinds into cartilage-weak bone. The intensity of the pressure and the different contact points in the groove make the noise.


Running Rx: Cracking knees may lead to problems down the line, like arthritis. Minimize that chance by strengthening the muscles that control the hips and knees with exercises such as the clamshell for the hips and squats for the knees. Remember to keep your lower half in alignment while performing these exercises.



I use the bathroom right before I start, so why do I have to pee mid-run?


The urge to detour into the bushes can happen for a couple of reasons. As your heart pumps blood more rapidly around your body, your kidneys may produce more urine, especially if you were well-hydrated prior to your run and you drink during it; or, you could be dehydrated, and the concentrated urine in your bladder may give you that gotta-go feeling; or, due to a slightly weak sphincter combined with the jostling of running, a bit of urine may leak through the bladder and stimulate the urethra, making you wish you could just cross your legs while running.


Running Rx: Take a pee break. If it happens a lot, schedule a pit stop at a urologist's office.

 

Why is it easier for me to run in the morning and so hard to rally at the end of the day?



Are you an "early bird" or a "night owl"?  Our body is regulated by over 100 built-in clocks known as the circadian rhythm. Everybody has their own circadian rhythm. Each unique 24-hour cycle influences an aspect of our body's function, including sleep, body temperature, hormone levels, heart rate, blood pressure and even pain threshold. Our body is normally synchronized to a light-dark 24-hour cycle we call a day. Depending on your natural bird persona--lark or owl--your energy and mood will vary depending on the time of day.


Running Rx: If you want to hit the road or trail at 6 a.m.—and not hit anybody there over the head with a coffee cup—expose yourself to light as soon as the alarm goes off. This is the easiest way to wake up your body. Also, realize that as you age, you naturally become more of a lark (I haven't always been one). Want to extend your staying power? Exercise either outside, if the sun is still out, or in a bright room two to four hours before bed. It's tough to fight biological tendency, the important thing is to exercise, any time of day.



Why do I feel like a genius after a run?


Perhaps the biggest benefit of a great 10-K is that, post-run, you're sure you could score 1,600 on a Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), 2,400 if you're under 25—or at least improve. Running increases levels of positive neurotransmitters, like endorphins; norepinephrine, which is responsible for alertness; and serotonin, which helps regulate mood. Plus, running puts the brain in an 'alpha-wave' state, which is associated with feelings of calmness and well-being. A handful of studies have documented that moving your feet correlates with improving your brain; two studies conducted at the University of Illinois found that 30 minutes of exercise resulted in up to a 10 percent improvement in cognition, or being more effective in processing a problem or situation. Maybe that stellar score isn't out of reach.


Running Rx: Um, if you really have to ask, maybe you should go for a run.

Wacky fix or weird science?


Okay, sometimes you may sneak a sip of juice from the pickle jar. But could that seemingly worthless liquid, which often gets tossed into the trash when the pickles are gone, be the key to athletic endurance and avoiding debilitating leg cramps? Some anecdotal evidence says “Yes”! But what does science say? Before you get yourself in a pickle, let’s find out!


A favorite folk remedy has won scientific approval after years of study and speculation. In a double-blind study, researchers compared the effects of drinking the dregs from jars of Vlasic pickles to that of deionized water. The results were clear: the induced cramps went away in 85 seconds in the people who drank pickle juice, compared with 150 seconds for those who drank deionized water. People who drank pickle juice stopped cramping faster than those who drank water...faster than Gatorade...faster than Powerade, or any other supplement.


In fact it works so fast, researchers believe that the water and electrolytes found in pickle juice have little to do with its muscle cramp busting ability. They believe that “the rapid inhibition of the electrically induced cramps reflects a neurally mediated reflex that originates in the oropharyngeal region and acts to inhibit the firing of alpha motor neurons of the cramping muscle”. Or, in plain English...it triggers a nerve reaction in your throat that stops your nervous system from telling your muscles to cramp up. How cool is that?

Changing Colors

The color orange is everywhere today. It’s completely invaded my usually green running world. Maple trees are cloaked in a spectacular blaze of fluorescent red-orange. The still-lit street lamps lining the roads have an eerie orange glow about them, and leftover rotting pumpkin corpses sag here and there as far as the eye can see. Even the sky has a scattering of orange across it. I love the color orange in nature, but it’s not a color you will find in my closet. It just doesn’t look good on me.


As a child I was the color purple. The color purple filled me with magic and fantasy. It was the color of fairy princesses and magical castles; of mythical creatures and enchanted lands. 

In the 80’s I was a “winter” according to the popular color draping analysis fad which was hot back then. Wearing the colors of winter apparently made my eyes sparkle and shine and gave my skin a healthy, flawless glow. I was promised I would look years younger and would feel healthier and slimmer which would then give me oodles of self confidence.

According to most color quizzes, I’m a “blue” which is the color of peace and tranquility. Blue is apparently a good color to wear to a job interview because it also symbolizes loyalty. I look good in the color blue.

But of all the colors, I feel most like the color green these days. Forest green to be exact. Green is life. It is abundant in nature and signifies growth, renewal, health and environment. To me it is a restful color. It is also the color for “go” on a traffic light and is strongly associated with the Irish, which is fitting as I have a lot of Irish in me. I also have a green thumb and my birthstone for the month of May is emerald. On the flip or negative side, green is jealousy or envy (green-eyed monster) and if you are a “greenhorn” you are inexperienced. I’ve definitely been a green-eyed monster and a greenhorn at one time or another. Yes I am definitely green. Green rules my world.

But today is different. It is the day after Halloween and maybe there is still some of that Halloween magic in the air. Orange magic. I try to drink in the orangeness around me. Orange is a power color and one of the healing colors. It is associated with the benign warmth of the sun. It stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. A dynamic color to be sure. And apparently if a change of any kind is needed in life, burning an orange candle for 7 nights will bring that change. Just as fall marks the transition from summer into winter, orange in nature also signifies change. From warmer to cooler weather. From longer to shorter days. From the color green in the forest to brown, or even white when winter arrives. The color orange does not look good on me, but still I am enjoying it’s energy and vibes as soon I will hear winter’s song and running will take on a whole new look and feel.


It is a perfect run on a sublime morning made this way by all the elements of nature which have come together perfectly to make a dazzling spectacle in full autumn dress. As the seasons change and take on different colors, so do we as we journey through the different seasons of our lives. And as I continue on my run I get a glimpse of myself sometime in the distant future and what I see makes me smile. I see the color purple once again.

 

"Sweet and smiling are thy ways. Beauteous gold Autumn days.”

- Will Carleton