Well, I’ve pretty much taken a long summer vacation from posting anything on this blog. And that’s if you figure that summer somehow starts here in NE Ohio in February or March. Sigh.
Anyway, I last opined about LeBron James and how he was managing the news. You know — the decision. Ah, gee. That turned out well. Not. Hard to believe that LeBron could have handled that more unprofessionally. And hey. I didn’t really care whether he stayed or left — save for the angst that it caused many here and elsewhere who did care.
So what have I been doing? Well, truth be told, not much. I like that expression: truth be told. Wonder how often it actually surfaces in the real world of politics, business and so on these days. I digress.
Mostly I’ve managed to embellish my months-old funk driven primarily by my inability to hit the concrete daily at 5 a.m. for my five-mile running tour of the neighborhood. The nerve problem in my foot just isn’t getting any better — and chasing the belt on the treadmill might elevate the heart rate but it sure doesn’t do much to raise the level of endorphins. Go figure.
So why not just do something else: walk, bike, swim, circle the earth on the elliptical? No good, or even remotely rational, answer to that other than I want to run. And apparently I’m not the only one that faces this kind of a dilemma — although some have greater success in resolving the issue.
Gina Kolata, writing in The New York Times — “When Repeat Injuries Can’t Dim an Athlete’s Passion” — looks at why it is often difficult for someone to give up a sport they enjoy, even in the face of injury or common sense. Here’s from the article:
At least one expert, recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine for this column, would say we stubborn athletes have a psychological problem.
Our behavior, said the expert, Dr. Jon L. Schriner, an osteopath at the Michigan Center for Athletic Medicine, is “compulsive”: we let our egos get in the way, persisting beyond all reason.
But another expert recommended by the college, David B. Coppel, a clinical and sports psychologist at the University of Washington, has another perspective. There are several reasons some people find it hard to switch sports, he told me. Often, their friends do that sport, too; it is how these people identify themselves, part of their social life. And then there is another, more elusive factor.
“There is something about the experience — be it figure skating or running or cycling — that really produces a pleasurable experience,” Dr. Coppel said. “That connection is probably not only at a psychological level but probably also something physiological that potentially makes it harder for these people to transition to other sports.”
A psychological problem? Compulsive? Say what?
Oh well. There is most likely some truth being told there, and like many, I’m going to have to take a hard look at sports alternatives as one way to get back to my normal routines, which includes posting more regularly here.
I’ll consider that tonight during Happy Hour — as the first double Jameson splashes over the ice.
Oops. What’s this article — also in The New York Times — “Why Getting Old Means Drinking Less“? Here’s from the article:
If you feel like you can’t drink the way you used to, you’re not alone. An aging body is more sensitive to alcohol than a younger one.
The National Institutes of Health’s Senior Health Web site today issued new warnings about alcohol and aging, reminding people 65 and older that even a few drinks can hit them harder than in their youth.
The reason is that older people metabolize alcohol more slowly, and they also have less water in their bodies. The result is that an adult who consumes just a few glasses of wine will have a higher percentage of alcohol in his or her blood than a younger person drinking the same thing. That’s why you may start feeling tipsy sooner after consuming alcohol, even if your drinking habits are the same as always.
Meh.
PR on the run 