What Is Your Verb?

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Coco

One of the neat traditions at my son’s high school comes during “senior chapel” when each senior is given a prayer book with a verb inscribed on the inside front cover. The faculty members select the verbs, which are carefully chosen to reflect each individual student. It was quite interesting to hear the different verbs given to my son’s classmates. Some were predictable (leap for a long-jumper, create for an artist) but others were more intriguing (persuade, defend).

The chaplain explained that the tradition arose from a visit to a historic cemetery. She noticed that the gravestones were inscribed with nouns: doctor, lawyer, mother, brother, but those words didn’t give her a feel for who the people were.  As the chaplain said, our spiritual identities are about verbs–what we do, the choices we make, how we live our lives.  She reminded the students that while high school (and college and beyond) can make nouns–labels–seem so important, we will  be remembered by what we do, not by our titles.

What is your verb?

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Three Things Thursday (The Overnight Essentials Edition)

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Coco

Last weekend was the state championships for my son’s lacrosse team. The games were played at a school in Charlottesville and coincided with U. Va. graduation weekend, so hotel rooms were scarce. Luckily, a colleague has a condo at a ski/golf resort not too far away, and was willing to let us use it–if we needed it.

The way the games were scheduled, the team had to win Friday night in order to play on Saturday, so heading into the weekend we didn’t know if we would need a place to stay or not. We packed bags, but did not got all-out with groceries.

After our boys won on Friday, we hit a grocery store for these essentials:

  1. Beer to celebrate the win!
  2. Half-and-Half for our coffee (we already had a stash of Starbucks Via in our bags)
  3. Chocolate

What are your overnight essentials?

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(Almost) Wordless Wednesday (The Tree Climbing Edition)

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Coco

I was looking for a shady seat at my son’s lacrosse game last week, and noticed that the trees behind the bleachers were perfect for climbing.

I had a great view of the game.

And the perfect place for my water bottle.

After a while I even had some company.

When is the last time you climbed a tree?

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Wear Suncreen (Please)

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Coco

Around here, Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer. Many people will make their first trek to the beach, while many more will take their first trip to their neighborhood pool. While most people will pack sunscreen in their tote bags, many don’t realize that you should wear sunscreen year-round, even on cloudy days.

I learned that lesson the hard way when I was in middle school. My youth group took a day trip to the beach. Even though it was completely overcast, I was determined to “lay out” and “get a tan.” I slathered myself with baby oil and lay on my towel for as long as I could stand it. By the end of the day, I had a serious sunburn. I still remember how painful it was, and how my damaged skin peeled off in sheets days later.

Warning: Even a few serious sunburns can increase your child's risk of getting skin cancer.

With a history like that, it’s no wonder that I am one of the many people who have had a nonmelanoma skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma). (According to the CDC website, approximately 2 million people are diagnosed with basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas in the U.S. each year) While those types of skin cancer are not deadly, they can be disfiguring. I was lucky–my cancer was along my hairline, and my dermatologist was able to remove it all and hide the area under my bangs. In fact, it was my hairdresser that got me to the dermatologist in the first place, because she could see it more easily than I could.

May is skin cancer awareness month, and the Centers for Disease Control has these tips for protecting yourself from the dangers of UV radiation:

  • Seek shade, especially during midday hours.
  • Wear clothing to protect exposed skin.
  • Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
  • Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays as possible.
  • Use sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 15 or higher, and both UVA and UVB protection.
  • Avoid indoor tanning.

The CDC doesn’t recommend routine screening for everyone, but it does list these risk factors:

  • A lighter natural skin color.
  • Family history of skin cancer.
  • A personal history of skin cancer.
  • Exposure to the sun through work and play.
  • A history of sunburns early in life.
  • A history of indoor tanning.
  • Skin that burns, freckles, reddens easily, or becomes painful in the sun.
  • Blue or green eyes.
  • Blond or red hair.
  • Certain types and a large number of moles.

If you have any of these risk factors, I urge you to get screened by a dermatologist. I had noticed “something” a few months before my hairdresser said anything and asked my family doctor about it during an office visit, but he wasn’t concerned. By the time I saw my dermatologist, he suspected cancer right away.

Did you know that skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S.?

Do you wear sunscreen?

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My Chiropractor Fired Me

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Coco

I haven’t written much about my ITB/piriformis lately. I wish that were because it hasn’t been bothering me, but sadly that’s not the case. After months of do-it-yourself rehab with at-home strength workouts, my foam roller and one of my son’s lacrosse balls, I sought professional help and went to a chiropractor. She diagnosed various imbalances, treated me with chiropractic corrections and deep tissue massage, and kept me running through my trio of spring races.

(Does anyone else think this is a creepy chiropractor picture?)

I was happy to be running, but she was not happy that every week or so she could measure a 3 cm difference in my leg length.  And, while she could relieve that nagging tightness in my SI/piriformis/ITB, it always returned between appointments. Still, at my last appointment I was surprised when my chiropractor fired me. Of course, she told me that I was welcome to continue treatment, but she said that she shouldn’t have to be adjusting me week in and week out, and suggested that I get an evaluation to see if there is something else that is persistently making my right leg pull short.

(1956 Chiropractor Beauty Contest from the LIFE photo archive)

I asked around, did some Google research, and found a marathon running doctor who seemed to fit the bill. (I prefer to see doctors who are runners because they tend to understand runners and running-related injuries more than others!) My initial assessment was anticlimactic–he confirmed the muscle imbalance that a few reps of single-leg squats and leg lifts had told me months ago–and suggested that I start with 6 weeks of physical therapy before undergoing any more expensive/invasive diagnostic tests.

So, that’s where I am.  I’ve booked my physical therapy appointments, but they don’t start until mid-June. Until then, I’m still doing my strength routine, using my foam roller, and trying to keep running.

When you have a sports injury, do you try to find a doctor who also is an athlete?

Do you see a chiropractor?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments