A Passion for Running

My family went on a little trip to Banff National Park (more photos at the link) right after Christmas this year. The kids LOVED the Gondola and Banff Hot Springs.

And this photo of Lori and I is a new favorite of mine.

Thank you everyone for your concern. I am a-ok after a difficult month or two of getting through layers of health stuff. I owe a bunch of you emails and promise to get in touch with you over the next few days.

Take care and happy holidays!

All the best to you and your families,
Mark

I’m so proud of my friend Jeff for rallying the web’s runners around Ryan Shay’s family.

This sort of thing hits you on so many levels. First, because once we get fit, we runners tend to think of ourselves as invincible. We are not. Ryan was an elite athlete with a heart defect. He was, to most of us, superhuman and was still struck down at the age of 28.

The second thing that hits you is empathy. Empathy for Ryan’s family and wife. Once upon a time I thought I’d lost my son. Near misses like that make you appreciate your loved ones in ways you could not have imagined previously. My heart bleeds for the Shays.

So, I did my part and ran 5.5 miles. They were quiet miles. Quiet thoughtful miles.

The one positive, albeit sort of morbid thought (I guess this is an appropriate time for being morbid) I had while running those miles is a thought I often have…

…When my time comes, I hope it comes like it did for Ryan – doing what I love doing – running down a dream.

God bless.

I’m stealing this write-up from Anne…

Most of you by now are aware of Ryan Shay, the 28-year-old that died 5.5 miles into last weekend’s Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City. There are numerous memorials being erected or created, including one conceived by my friend Jeff, that amazing hipster up in southern Orange County.

Jeff would like anyone who can next Saturday to run 5.5 miles in honor of Ryan Shay. The details are on Complete Running.

Thanks everyone for your concern. I’m happy to report very good news.

I got the results from the Barium swallow. The x-rays showed that my stomach and esophagus are not damaged and that there are no tumors – malignant or otherwise – in there. That’s a big relief for me since I was still having a horrible constricted, lumpy feeling in my throat and my imagination was running away with me. The doctor says the sensations I’ve been having are due to my esophagus tightening up when the acid from my stomach hits it.

The solution is a prescription for a more powerful proton pump inhibitor medication. On it, Doc says I will get rid of this problem. I can’t tell you how much I hope she’s right, and that the medication works SOON since I often feel like I am being strangled. Sometimes it’s so bad I feel like blood flow is being restricted to my head. That might explain some other things (let the jokes fly).

I’ve also made some astounding discoveries and progress with my neck and shoulder pain. I’ll share about that in my next post because I think what I’ve learned might just help other people suffering from this kind of pain.

The lump in my throat is really bad. I’m remembering something my doctor suggested might be the problem – I would not be surprised at all if I have a bad hiatal hernia.

Whatever it is, it has moved beyond uncomfortable – my throat feels badly constricted and it’s getting harder to swallow. I hope I get some answers from the tests I took very soon.

And, if that wasn’t bad enough, my shoulder is a constant source of pain, pins and needles. And if that wasn’t bad enough, my lower back – which I haven’t had trouble with in three years – is giving me trouble after I slipped while lifting something.

Have I whined enough? Somebody shoot me.

had my barium swallow today. yum.

At one point, I was turned onto my right side and I could see a window reflection of the screen the doctor was looking at. Have you ever seen your stomach on TV? I don’t know about yours, but mine is not a pretty sight.

Ben is a colleague of mine (he sits about 30 feet away from me) who’s recently entered the blogosphere. We share a love of technology and dry sarcasm. He also took up running not long ago – although he hasn’t written anything on that subject yet.

Oh, and Ben is a transplanted American originally from Detroit (do I have that right, Ben?). Like all good Americans, Ben loves baseball.

Pay him a visit. He has far more interesting things to say than I do.

Welcome to bloggie-land Ben!

The GERD medication I am taking is working. The heartburn is gone and the lump in the throat sensation has gotten better and better.

I’ve been running anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes almost every day and am hoping I haven’t lost very much fitness this past few weeks.

My focus with running has been to just run easy. Really easy and enjoy the miles. The reward for those lollygagging miles is that I’ve been catching myself thinking a lot about Boston lately.

It feels good to dream.