Grappling With PD

I travelled to Dallas just in time to celebrate my birthday on Friday and then prepare for the race on Saturday, This was my first race in the Age Group heat, after spending the previous 4.5 years in Open heat. That meant an 8 AM start, and an even earlier 4 AM commute from Prosper, TX to the venue in Granbury. The weather later in the day would be sunny and warm, but when I arrived at about 6:15 AM, it was still cold and dark, The Ultra runners were getting underway, and the Elite heats of the Beast were on deck. I had some organizing to do on my post-race gear before checking in and visiting bag check. I wanted my hands to be empty for this race, so I put the day's pills in my right-side pocket and kept the left-side pocket empty. In my mind's eye I envisioned the small plastic pill box sliding right out of the pocket, so to provide enough friction to prevent and help them stay put, I dropped them into a sock, wrapped that up into a ball, and pushed it to the bottom o...

No, that's not some new caliber rifle cartridge. It's a question . . . or maybe a goal. Can I run 26.2 miles? Can I cover that much ground in a reasonable amount of time? Can I do it before I turn 54? The marathon is interesting. For some reason, back when I was young and a relatively strong runner I had no interest in doing it. I recall in college reading some comments about the experience, written by a fellow student. His report boiled down to 1) he didn't think he could do it; 2) he did it; 3) in spite of all the pain, it was awesome. Did not leave me anxious to go after it myself. I had nothing against the marathon; it just wasn't for me. It was an activity pursued and performed by others. I ran a fair amount in high school, a lot in college, and a lot in the USN. Post-navy, I soon got a house and a dog, registered for grad school, and started working multiple jobs. I kept up with my workouts, from push ups to flutter kicks to taekwondo kicks. I walked t...

For better or worse, Facebook has brought us many things. One of those things is the birthday fundraiser; at least, I had never heard of it before I saw it on Facebook. For my birthday fundraiser, I am once again raising money for the Michael J Fox Foundation. Team Synapse is back, and I am on the hook for raising at least $1200. That should be easy, so let's blow it out of the water! Please support me, Team Synapse, Team Fox, and everyone who is impacted by Parkinson's. Click HERE to donate! This is a short excerpt from Bill's post at the MJFF blog: Team Synapse (an incredible team of individuals from across the U.S. who are all living with PD) is expanding and coming together again on December 1 and 2, 2023 to take on the last relay race of the year, the Ragnar Trail Florida. Team Synapse will form two teams of eight to take on the 32-hour race in Alafia River State Park. Each team member will have to complete a series of three different trail runs, for a total of...

Interview -- with Together for Sharon

I shaved my head (or rather, someone shaved it for me) for the second time in my life. The first was early in Officer Candidate School (OCS). It was not the night that we arrived, but very likely the next morning that we went to the on-base barber (a rather optimistic title for this particular individual, as I recall). A long line of heads to shave means fast work, and fast work . . . well, he only drew blood from one of us (it wasn't me). I have no pictures from then. The second time was two weeks ago, and it was for a fundraiser. My usual fundraising beneficiary is going to be related to Parkinson's somehow, and it is mostly Team Fox and the Michael J Fox Foundation. However, I make exceptions from time to time--after all, there are many good causes out there in need of support--and this was one of those times. The organization is St. Baldrick's Foundation ( https://www.stbaldricks.org/ ), and they raise money to fight childhood cancer and raise awareness of rel...

I re-watched Michael J Fox's Still earlier this evening, and his no-boundaries story about the two-year-old Mike reminded me of my own story. The two-year-old Greg (or maybe three) did not run out the front door, like Mr. Fox. Mom had some shopping to do, so put me in the car and took me with her. My little brother was still a year or two away from entering this world, and my big brother must have been in school that day. So little Greg got to go to the department store. I loved exploring, and I loved going inside things--things like a cardboard box fort built for us by my Dad, or in later years a cave or old building. In this particular case, what was available was a circular clothing rack at the White Store in De Pere, WI. I ducked under the shirts or pants, or whatever garments were hangng there, and I played. After a while--I have no idea how long--I decided to go find Mom and see what she was doing. I wandered around the store a while but could not find her. I did no...

[Originally published elsewhere on 7/21/19, describing a trek to Mt Whitney via the Mountaineer's route as a fundraiser for the Michael J Fox Foundation] Some thoughts/lessons learned for next time: I finally understand the usefulness of trekking poles. They help me a lot in poor-balance situations and get in the way in poor-coordination situations, and there are times when I prefer to put my hands on rocks (or branches), but I get it. I was considering carrying my cane instead of poles, like on Mt Charleston, but that would not work on a climbers' trail. I need to be more conscientious with sun screen and insect repellent. My training in the months leading up to this trip was pretty good, with one glaring omission: walking on steep slopes and jagged rocks. I can go for a longer hike with few if any problems where it's flat or stair-stepped, but on a real trail I got blisters on the balls of my feet. Better preparation needs to include hikes on rugged terrain, or if th...