Funny blog from Ultrarunning Magazine.

    This refers to running an Ultra, but I think it applies to running a marathon as well....so many voices in my head.

http://www.ultrarunning.com/featured/listen-to-your-body-what-you-hear-might-surprise-you/?utm_source=Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=edb04fbf46-Weekly+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1577fa00f6-edb04fbf46-114677585

Sayings

Cancer and it's treatments have been in the news a lot lately.

Radiation therapy can make cancers more malignant.
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/study-radiation-therapy-can-make-cancers-30x-more-malignant

Did cancer evolve to protect us?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/did-cancer-evolve-to-protect-us/

The benefits of end-stage cancer chemotherapy may worsen quality of life and do not prolong life.  This fits in with the book I recently read, "Being Mortal."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/health/chemotherapy-may-worsen-end-of-life-quality-study-finds.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

Eat like you have cancer.  Don't wait til you have it to change your diet.
http://wjla.com/news/health/eating-like-you-have-cancer

Has cancer been completely misunderstood?
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/has-cancer-been-completely-misunderstood

"I'm not as fast or as flexible as I once was, but running keeps me young."---Nicole DeBoom

     There are lots of days when I don't feel like exercising at all, and on those days I don't do much, but I do something.  Motivation helps me greatly.  It helps to have heroes or new reasons why I should get out there. That's one reason I have a big dog, and am trying to accomplish a running streak (today is day 328).

     Here is a link to interviews with 7 amazing older ultrarunners.  These people are in their 70's and 80's and are running 100 mile races in the mountains.....they are accomplishing things I cannot even fathom.  They are the heroes I was talking about.  If they can do that, then I should be able to do the lesser running that I do.
http://www.runnersworld.com/ultrarunning/for-these-ultramarathoners-mileage-like-age-is-just-a-number


     Then there are always the other reasons to run.  Here is a link to an article about how exercise keeps aging brains humming. One of the 3 studies it mentions shows that aerobic exercise actually improves Alzheimer's Disease.  Now how many places do you know of that offer aerobics to Alzheimer's patients?  Let's hope this starts a trend.
http://sportsgeezer.com/2015/exercise-keeps-aging-brains-humming/ 


"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals.  The struggles within yourself---the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us---that's where it's at." 
                                      Jesse Owens

"The older you get, the more you realize it isn't about the material things, or pride or ego. It's about our heart and who it beats for."

Dear Whoever is reading this,
     I hope you find a reason to smile today.

"Being Mortal"

     I just completed reading the book "Being Mortal:  Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Dr. Atul Gawande.  It is a powerful book and should be required reading for all health care providers, and gives much food for thought for all of us.  I highly recommend it.

Something to ponder for the weekend:

What forgiveness is?
Sufi replied:
It's the fragrance that flowers give when they are crushed.



     I went to see "Twelfth Night" at Shakespeare in the Park last night.  It was great.  I do wonder what the swallows nesting in the eaves over the amphitheater thought?  Did all the noise make them restless or were they just tired of seeing the same show every evening?  Also, what about the flocks of geese flying overhead to and from the lake. Were they inured to Shakespeare as well?
     It was relaxing watching a good show with friends while surrounded by nature and a gorgeous sunset seen over a lake.....with only a few sprinkles of rain.

Do you love peace? Hate violence? Hate cruelty? Do you walk the walk?

     "The sadness of being vegan" by The Elephant in the Room blog:

https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/the-sadness-of-being-vegan/

“Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: they’re only animals.”

― Theodor W. Adorno

Why 3500 calories doesn't equal a pound in real life.

     I found this article interesting. So over a year's time, it is more like 7000 calories equals a pound.  Sounds about right.
http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/biggest-weight-loss-myth-revealed

     I did like the body weight planner it offered.
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html




     Meanwhile, this quote popped up in my email today.  It was good timing.  I WILL go out and do at least a mile!

"Today I did not want to run, and yet I did it anyway."                                           – Someone who's dedicated to change

"What do you hang on the walls of your mind?"--Zora Neale Hurston

     I can find anything in there.  My brain is a hoarder and seems to hang on to the oddest things of no particular value.

"My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire. I longed to kindle one! It seemed not so wild a dream." --Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlett Letter

     I read this eloquent quote and determined to read the book as somehow I managed to get through college and high school without having done so.  I find the book wordy and dry.  At some point I will finish it, but the above quote is still absolutely wonderful....so descriptive of the human condition.

When you count your blessings, count your dog twice.

     I always do.

Race didn't happen.

Update....so after sitting in traffic for an hour, finally parking my car, and waiting in line for two hours for the buses to take us to the start....they cancelled the half marathon!  The bus company they hired didn't provide the buses.

I'm home by 7 AM eating my 2nd breakfast of the day and thinking I ought to do some kind of a run, but by now all I want to do is go back to bed.

It was fun hanging out with 3 friends for that time, but it would have been better being able to race.  It looks like it will be a gorgeous morning.

At least I'm only out my $70 race entry and a few hours of my life.  Lots of people came from out of state to run the race. They must really be upset.  Fingers crossed they will provide a free entry to next year's race.

On the other hand, the race director was near tears as she advised the long lines of runners that the race was cancelled.  I feel sorry for her, too.

It's just a race.

"Do not underestimate the intimacy of running, and the people with whom you share your miles." ---Kristen Armstrong

     2 AM and I am up.  It is race day for the Revel Half.  This time I am running with friends.  We will meet up at another friend's home at 415 AM to carpool to catch the bus at the finish line, which will take us to the start.  It is a point to point race generally downhill from Evergreen, CO to Morrison, CO.
     Wish all us crazy people luck.
     This is my last race of this summer.


Update:  245 AM, my dog is dragging me down the street as a little brown fox is zig-zagging in front of us teasing her.  The fox knows my dog is leashed, but apparently my dog has forgotten.

And there is something wrong when you apply sunscreen at 330 AM when it is dark out.  At least I remembered it.

Seeds are origins of life...

but did you ever wonder what quantity is optimal in your diet?  This article helps.

http://ieatgrass.com/2015/05/7-super-seeds-you-need-to-know-about/




     I read this quote last night in a mystery by Louise Penny. It really caught my eye. What do you think?
               

“Abby Hoffman said we should all eat what we kill. That would put an end to war.”

― Louise Penny, Still Life

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." Langston Hughes

    What are your dreams?  What are your plans for the next year?  I am starting a mental list of mine.

Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second---Mattie Stepanek

Battle scars.

     I renewed my Driver's License yesterday.  Hair color is now listed as white.  I guess that makes it official.

The siren song of the marathon...

   
     This article captures my feelings exactly.  We all long to be warriors, to be heroes, which is hard to do in today's world. The marathon truly is everyman's Evererst.  It is so very difficult but does give us the chance to feel extraordinary in our ordinary lives.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-saltmarsh/the-siren-song-of-the-mar_b_7736476.html?sf10762980=1

11 Bible quotes that are telling you to go vegan...

     I found this interesting.  I was only aware of #1.
http://www.peta.org/living/other/vegan-bible-quotes/

It was never a dress.

“I don’t think I Love
very many things but
here are the ones I
can think of:

I Love the first sip
of coffee in the morning

I Love reading someone
else’s words and finding
a connection in them

I Love the feeling a
good song invokes

I Love wondering..

I Love driving at night
with no destination

I Love the gentle kind
of sadness like a reminder
that I can feel.”

—Marianna Paige

What is your fitness age? I'm 39.

     This article mentions an online health-age fitness calculator.
http://sportsgeezer.com/2015/old-athletes-are-biologically-young/

      Here is the calculator:
https://www.worldfitnesslevel.org/#/


       Two weeks of inactivity can lead to the equivalent muscle loss of 40 years worth of aging.
http://sportsgeezer.com/2015/two-weeks-of-inactivity-muscle-loss-of-40-years/

I pledge allegiance

     I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!

     Yesterday the group with which I volunteer, Freedom Service Dogs, took an outing to a major crowded shopping mall.  I had the pleasure of taking a wonderful lab mix called Kanga on his first outing to the mall.  I was so impressed with this dog.  He noticed everything.  He saw the headless, handless male manikin....he stopped, backed up, and stared, with his eyes running up and down trying to figure out the headlessness. He finally decided it was okay.  Next was a full-sized realistic painted bear statue with big eyes, located in the kids' play area.....same response, stop, back up, stare for awhile and then move on. The elevator and the heights from a 2nd floor overlook were no problem.  He lay under the table in the food court for 30 minutes while I ate and just watched the crowds go by. I love smart observant dogs. He will be a terrific service dog for somebody in a few months.


                                                   God made a dog (watch)