March, Get Mad, and Get KIND

Another quickie post today.  It's been a really emotional week for a lot of reasons that are just not quite blog-appropriate.

One of the reasons, though, is the fact that the US Government has neither the resources nor the desire to get their act together and reunite over 2,000 children with their families.  They are continuing to detain people seeking asylum, which is legal to do in the United States of America.

The government is taking a sharp turn down a terrifying road, but we are a nation of the people, and we can fight it.

There are over 700 protests happening today in all 50 states.  Go here to find one near you and let's put our bodies and voices on the line for what's right.

Once you do that, donate to my beautiful friend Laura's marathon charity, KIND - Kids in Need of Legal Defense.  Hopefully it will be mine too if I'm cleared to run, but even if not, I will be doing everything I can to work with Laura in her fundraising effort.

Click here to donate and learn more about Laura and KIND's efforts.

I'll leave this brief post with her words:

When I first saw the image of children in cages, my heart sank. As a runner, I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that all these children have as a protective barrier against them and the concrete, metal inclosure they found themselves in, were mylar blankets. As runners we know all too well that mylar blankets are uncomfortable and only used to shield you slightly from the elements, but yet this is what the children were given to comfort their poor, lost, weary, souls. I thought of the babies, stripped from their mothers. Babies, who, more than likely, were still breast feeding. Working with infants in my daily like as a post natal yoga teacher, I know all too well what happens when babies begin to wean from the breast, the challenges that can occur, and the hurdles both mother and baby face. I started to ask myself, "'did anyone think about this?", "whose changing the diapers on a regular basis?", "whose making sure the infants aren't allergic to the formula?", "whose taking care of the diaper rash and the heat rash and the neglect and the cries and the pain?" These are the questions that called me to action. No child deserves this abuse. Period. I make the calls and I show up to the protests, but if running has taught me anything, it's that I'm strong as hell, I'm healthy, I've got a voice and a mind, and I have no excuse to NOT do more for these children. My mother raised me to stand up for all children in need, and out of respect for her and the mothers who have been stripped from their children, I plan to do just that.

Together Rising.

I finally had gathered up the courage (a word which seems really stupid now) to write a little more in depth about my journey with my injury and how it's affecting my life and my goals, but it just feels too petty today.

I work with children every day, some of whom I have known and loved since their mothers were pregnant with them.  I have four nephews and a niece that I love more than life itself.

What is happening at America's border is breaking my heart.  The Statue of Liberty feels like a joke right now.

And not one person on the religious right seems to be thinking when they see these poor people, "There but for the grace of God go I."

So, please, take two seconds out of your day, and donate to Together Rising, where every single penny is going to legal fees to help these families and children.

Take five minutes out of your day to call your representative, especially if you live in a a blue or purple state, and tell them where you stand.  Let's make those phone lines explode.

Take one day out of your life and protest on June 30th, and wherever and whenever the opportunity arises.  You may be far from the border, but you can still physically show up against this.

Finally, and most importantly, VOTE.  Make sure all your friends are registered to vote.  Vote in primaries, vote in November.  The only way to stop this administration's myriad of ethics violations, illegal actions, and horrific policies is a Democratic Congress.  The "never-Trump" GOP does nothing more than tweet their disapproval.  That's meaningless.

Please take the time to make a difference.  And count your blessings, while you're at it, because seriously - there but for the grace of God go I.

Music Therapy

You know how sometimes you have a lot going on, a lot of which would be excellent writing / reflecting material, but you're too deep in it so it wouldn't make much sense to write about it?  I'm sort of in that place right now.

There's a lot I could say about patience, listening, certainty, hope, attitude...but I'm too busy trying to cultivate all of those with only the most fleeting of success to really write anything decent about it.

So instead, I'm going to completely cheat and cop out of this entry, and leave you with not a playlist, but one single song.  Why even bother posting this?  Because it will drive me nuts if I don't post something once a week when I don't have the excuse of vacation to get me out of it.

With all that said, this is a spectacular song to listen to if you're in any way feeling beaten down, broken, sad, or just having your run-of-the-mill shitty day.

This song has been such a touchstone for me for the last four years that I wouldn't be surprised if I've done an entry solely dedicated to it before.  Big heartfelt thanks to Dayle Pivetta, a spectacular yoga teacher, for introducing it to me - during my first yoga class after my marathon injuries.

Listen and try not to feel better about your life.  Just try. 

Global Running Day

I didn't date at all in middle and high school until I was 17 and fell in love with my best friend.  I was single during almost all of college and after, until I was lucky enough to snag Marc when we were a month shy of 25.  So, I've had my fair share of Valentine's Days as a single girl, and honestly - I love Valentine's Day.  I've always loved it.  The elementary school years imprinted themselves firmly on me - this was a holiday that celebrated love (friends & family) and chocolate.  What's not to love?

Even when I wasn't happy about being single, even when I was lonely and felt like the only one in my circle without a boyfriend, I loved Valentine's Day.  I always thought of it as a choice - you can mope about what you don't have, or you can embrace the love that you do have in your life, and write cards for all your friends just like in the good old days.  And enjoy all the chocolate.

People who don't like Valentine's Day, single or not, tend to say it's a made up, commercial holiday.  They aren't necessarily wrong.

Today, June 6th, is apparently Global Running Day.  I'm not sure who made this global decree, or for how many years it's been the case, but I have been faced with a choice today.  My love of Valentine's Day never felt like a conscious choice or decision.  This, however...

I had fervently hoped two weeks ago that my two whirlwind trips away - to my sister's for Memorial Day and to Philly for Marc's show - would be the break from reality and the rest that would finally cure my whatever-is-wrong with my right side.  I made a fantastic training plan that started with two weeks of "test run's" - running for only a minute at a time, coupled with a ton of other strength and mobility work, to see how I feel - to begin today.

Unfortunately, I forgot that air travel, train travel, suitcase hauling, toddler hauling, and high-heel wearing were not exactly restful.  My magical cure of leaving town didn't work.

I finally saw a doctor this past Monday.  Probable diagnosis - a partial labral tear in my right hip.  I have shallow hip sockets (who knew?) and the repetitive movement of external rotation in yoga and just my own habits have likely caused a form of impingement.  Groin strain - that one wasn't news, it's just so damn slow to heal.  Hamstring strain.

So, no, I'm not running today.  And I could so easily be bitter about it.  There is a part of me that straight up is bitter about it - bitter, angry, resentful, self-pitying...you get the idea.

But that doesn't help.

Instead, I had my first ever chiropractic and acupuncture treatments at the wellness center that gave me such great care (and x-rays) on Monday.  I'm packing my bag for PT tomorrow morning.  I'm starting a journey not just to heal pain or an isolated injury, but to finally, once and for all, fix my form.  Not just my running form, but my biomechanics in every possible facet of my life and movement and all of the repetitive and everyday activity I do as a teacher, as an athlete, and as a human.

It's not what I want.  But I have to choose to take what I can take out of this journey and of this arbitrary Global Running Day.  I would much rather be able to just post a selfie of a sweaty tomato-face after a four miler (this morning was perfect running weather!), but I have to trust that what I'm doing instead will ultimately make me stronger.  Luckily for me, when I can't find that trust, I have enough positive cheerleaders out there who trust for me and remind me and encourage me and make me dinner and get me chocolate.  (Laura Frye, I'm staring at that card you gave me right this second.  You are the best.)

I don't just want to run for a day, or for one race, or for one season.  I'm running for life.  So, first thing's first.

To all of those blessed enough to run today, I hope you ran with your whole heart and treated yourself to something cold and delicious afterward, and took a moment of gratitude for the gift that running is.  I'll be back out with you soon, and I will be seeing you at the New York City Marathon this November.