Two Weeks to Go...
I can hardly believe that we're less than 2 weeks away from the Harrisburg Marathon. More than 600 miles of training lies in the past. For the past 10 weeks in a row, I've has at least one run of 10 miles or more.
The Stride Against Stroke Campaign for
Gaylord Hospital has been a huge success thanks to family and old and new friends. So far more than $1,500 has been received and more than $2,500 has been pledged. Donations -- and donations from more than 30 donors are still outstanding and more than 20 of those have not yet disclosed the amount of their donation.
Last Tedy Bruschi post-stroke performance post, I promise.
81/2 months after suffering a stroke, New England Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi had 2 tackles and 5 assists in the Patriots 21-16 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
It's Haloween and the crazies will be at Heinz Field tonight for the Steelers and the Ravens (appropriate that a team aligned with
Edgar Alan Poe plays on Haloween).
If you're going to the game, and plan to dress up (and after all don't most fans wear some costume to football games), please keep in mind the following guidelines designed to take the joy out of -- I mean protect the saftey of all fans.
From
Steelers.com:
- The Pittsburgh Steelers encourage a fan friendly environment where both adults and children can dress up for Halloween and cheer on the Steelers.
- Costumes must be in good nature and not offensive or discriminating.
- Masks and props will NOT be permitted; face painting is permitted.
- Costumes must not impair another fan's view or enjoyment of the game.
- Clothing must fit within the boundary of an individuals ticketed seat location, no storage of costumes will be permitted.
- PSSI Stadium Corp. and Heinz Field reserved the right to refuse admission to any person whose costume does not comply with these guidelines or poses a danger to other fans.
I'd like the supersize evangelical nuggets...
One of the benefits of starting your own company, especially a chain of say fast food restaurants, is you develop a network to hoist your world view on others. Your own, perhaps profitable, bully pulpit to spread your views and some good chicken.
This morning, since it was rainy damp and cold, GSully and I decided to do it up suburban style. We loaded the Mini (Van) and tromped off to Monroeville for some shopping. Hungry for some gourmet cuisine, we scored some nugget meals for R,S, and T from
Chik-fil-a. The free prize inside was a free CD "Adventures in Odyssey" furnished by
Focus on the Family.
Visiting the website of Focus on the Family, I was struck by this week's "Weekend Magazine" where we'll be talking about Halloween and "the dangers of Wicca." Well, if most wicca are anything like Dawn, our old next door neighbor in Silver Spring, MD, one problem is that they don't eat a lot of chicken. Truth is she spent most of her time gardening in the small backyards we had behind our apartments. It's not hard for me to imagine her at her equivalent of mass listening to someone preach the evils of lard-fried nuggets of poultry goodness.
Incidently, our kids love the chicken. Speaking from personal experience, it's fantastic. The toy's in the kids meals make our kids about as excited as socks on Christmas morning and appear to have near 0 value on e-bay.
I Can See It In Your Eyes
From the October 24, 2005 issue of
Time.
Stroke Risk? The Eyes Have It
Your eyes can tell a lot about you, perhas even your future risk of stroke.
A seven-year study of 3,654 adults, piblished in the journal Neurology, found
that people who had retinopathy, or damage in the small blood vessals of the
retina, were at least 70% more likely than the rest of us to have a
stroke.
Coming This Weekend U2 II and 20Mi III
A weekend of sequals coming to the Burgh...
U2 coming off of 5 sold out shows in New York and 2 in Washington DC roll in to Pittsburgh for 1. Well, that's all we care about because gsully and I will be at Mellon Arena Saturday, comparing the performance to the May show in Philadelphia. It will be a great show and the Penguins will not lose (again).
I will roll out on the 3rd of 3 20 mile runs in preparation for the Harrisburg Marathon 3 weeks from Sunday -- hopefully finishing that up in time to catch the Bengals and the Steelers on Sunday. (By the way, what's with trashing Tommy Maddox's house! I would say that's taking things a little seriously, but really that's not taking things seriously at all. It's really worse than childish. My "fans" may be less passionate, but they are a lot more supportive when I blow it.)
Next week -- a stretch drive for elite status on United. 8 segments 4 to Houston and 4 more to Montreal.
Man Bites Dog
Searching for news on strokes and stroke rehabilitation is usually like finding a needle in a haystack. A profile of a survivor here, a research study there. That's because strokes are very common, an every day occurence that causes traumatic change for victims and their families. For the rest of the world, its like reporting a dog bite. As the saying goes "tell me when the man bites the dog, that's news."
This week Tedy Bruschi's return to the New England Patriots has caused a flood of publicity about strokes and rehabilitation. Google News returns
almost 30 pages of stories about Bruschi and his stroke and rehabilitation, probably the greatest "moment of awareness" for stroke in a long time.
Sully and Bruschi Are Back
The last 10 days had us gasping for breath...and away from the blog for a little bit.
I've been on vacation. GSully and I were in San Diego to visit old friends and cheer on the Steelers on Monday Night Football. A great time with great friends.
I've been working. Heads down buried on an interesting and difficult project, working hard to get the content exactly right. I've also been down to Alpharetta, GA for a team training session with some great colleagues.
I've been running (a little). All the travel notwithstanding, I did complete the 2nd of 3 - 20 mile runs before jetting to San Diego. Unfortunately, that was the last time I ran before ripping off a 13 mile and a 6 mile run over the weekend. Everything seems on track, runs were comfortable and injury free with 4 weeks to go.
I've been raising money. More donors sending more money. Great assistance from family and friends out beating the bushes. Checks rolling in. Looking forward to updating the totals.
In the mean time, hears an update on Tedy Bruschi, who may be returning to the Patriots this season after all, returning to the practice field this week.More later...Sully.
For that deep down body thirst...(sorry I used to watch to much television)
Today's
Pohla Smith of the P-G reports that researchers at the Indiana University at Bloomington have determined that chocolate milk is as good or better than Gatorade for nutritional fluid replacement.
Bodies fatigued by exercise simultaneously need and can not get enough calorie replacement because the body is too tired to eat. Sports drinks seek to replace nutrients that the body loses during a strenuous workout.
The one potential drawback to chocolate milk is its higher calorie count, but in addition to the nutrients found in Gatorade, the milk has high protein, calcium, riboflavin, and vitamin D.
Somehow the ideam of it does not seem as refreshing -- and possibly even a little nasty until I've had a shower.
From
Real Age's Tip of The Day for Monday, October 3:
If you take aspirin regularly to thin your blood and reduce your risk of stroke,
don't stop taking it without your doctor's supervision. A recent study reveals
that stopping aspirin therapy abruptly could increase stroke risk, especially in
people with heart disease. Aspirin helps prevent the platelet clumping that
increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Stick to your doctor-recommended
aspirin regimen and consult your doctor before making any changes.
For more information on why, click
here...
Running Update: 500/50
Less than 6 weeks to go until the
Harrisburg Marathon on November 13.
The
Stride Against Stroke project hit 2 important milestones this week. First, on Thursday the total mileage run in trainig burst through the 500 mile barrier,
enough to run to Washington, DC and back. Second and more importantly the Stride Against Stroke campaign scored its 50th committed donor -- committing to support stroke rehabilitation programs at
Gaylord Hospital.
On the minus side, I spoke a little too soon after the 20 mile run last week in saying that I felt great. I had some pain in my right foot near my heal that had me hobbling a little bit for most of the week. As a result I begrudgingly cut 12 miles out of the plan this week, taking extra rest and ice. The good news is that I woke up Sunday morning after my Saturday long-run pain free, and should be able to get back to full intensity this week.
This week's running update:
- Last week I completed 25 miles in 3 workouts, including a 13 mile long run on Saturday. Since the beginning of training, I have completed 516 miles in 104 workouts, an average of 4.9 miles per workout.
- This week's training includes 46 miles, including a 20 mile run on Saturday.
