Life Changes

I haven't been posting very much lately, as I have been going through some life changes.  Learning and growing in many ways, different ways..   reading and studying and practicing...   a lot of spiritual stuff and learning how to quiet my mind, go within, meditate.

I recently finished reading a fascinating book by neurosurgeon Eben Alexander, MD, Proof of Heaven  A Neurosurgeon's Journey Into the Afterlife. You have probably read and heard about near-death experiences.  As someone who thought he should "know" that, although these episodes seem very real to the persons having them,  they are easily argued away by all sorts of scientific explanations.   That was until Dr Alexander contracted a rare form of meningitis, went into a coma and, for a week was close to death himself.  Everyone had given up on him surviving, thinking that even if he did his brain was so damaged that he would be mostly in a vegetative mental state and need round-the-clock care.  Dr Alexander suddenly awakened after that week-long coma, and had an amazing complete recovery.

His book details his journey into the "afterlife."  Here's a short video I found of him speaking about his experience.  Please watch.



You can get his book from Amazon.com:

What's Your To-Do List Today?

I came across this in one of my little inspirational books today while cleaning up my desk..

The (REAL) To-Do List

• Sing
• Smile at strangers
• Keep learning
• Notice kindness
• Eat ice cream
• Hope
• Count your blessings
• Laugh
• Love
• Love some more

RUN

Running in the Dark

Now that Daylight Savings Time has ended for the year, a lot of you who run after work will be running in the dark, at a time when there are lots of cars out there on the roads.  If you are running on the road, make sure you are facing traffic, so you can see the cars coming at you.  Also, help drivers see you by wearing bright-colored and reflective clothing--things that illuminate when light hits them.


You might also get a clip-on red light that flashes and that you just clip onto your clothing somewhere.  If the roads are not well lit and you are afraid you might trip or run into something, you might think about getting yourself a headlamp.

Running Inspiration

Course Record for Chicago Marathon, First-time Marathon Wins at Lakefront

Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede broke the course record in Sunday's Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:04:38.  Read The Science of Sport blogger Ross Tucker's indepth analysis of the entire marathon here.

Up in Milwaukee, area local Paul Zdroik won his first marathon in the time of 2:27:09, and on the women's side, Jacqui Giuliano did the same, with a winning time of 2:55:07.  Tom Held provides an excellent report on the Lakefront Marathon here.

I roamed around enjoying the marathon atmosphere down at the last couple miles and finish of Lakefront, taking lots of photos:

Marathons Tomorrow - Chicago and Milwaukee's Lakefront

Two great marathons tomorrow morning--the prestigious Chicago Marathon and Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon.

The Chicago Marathon was first run 35 years ago and was called the Mayor Daley Marathon.  From about 4,200 runners that year, the marathon has grown to approximately 45,000 participants in this year's event, with some 1.7 million spectators expected to watch along the streets of downtown Chicago.

Elite athletes to watch are:

• On the women's side, Liliya Shobukhova from Russia, winner of the last three Chicago Marathons,
• Men's Boston Marathon champ, Kenyan Wesley Korir, and
• Tsegaye Kebede from Ethiopia

Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon, which I ran back in 2003, is a really nice little marathon.  It start north of the city in Grafton at the local high school and eventually runs down the Lake Michigan lakefront ending up at Veteran's Park right on the lake.  Interesting news items from Lakefront's website can be found here

It will be a little chilly for both marathons tomorrow, high temp forecast for Chicago is 54 degrees while Milwaukee only 51 degrees.