A few days ago, I was thinking about the upcoming election and all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds it. There have been a lot of things to ponder: the mud-slinging, the role of the media, the "fear factor" ... but it extends far beyond these boundaries. This election has forced us to consider the true meaning of equality of both race and gender. It has forced many of us to look deep into our collective souls, to think deeply about the true values of this country, about leadership, about insight and vision for the country both inside and outside our borders. And amongst all of that, I was thinking about the beauty of the democratic process - of upholding your responsibility to vote so that you can then have an active voice in the future of the country and the freedoms we hold dear.
In the midst of this, I thought a great deal about some basic elements that I think get to the root of what we hold true. I think the labels may change, but when you get down to it, "red" states and "blue" states all have people like you and I that still just want to grow, learn, earn a living, raise a family, be all that they can be, love their parents and family and friends, and in all of this, maybe even leave a legacy and make the world a little bit better place than when we arrived on it.
I set out to create a reminder of all of these things, a sort of "Election Day Credo" to keep in mind as we rapidly approach November 4, a day that we may look back at as truly significant for our generation and those after us.
So here it is ... my Election Day Credo ... so repeat after me:
It's finally cooling off in Austin. With cooler weather comes the start of all the marathon training programs in preparation for the Austin Marathon in February. And with cool fall weather and marathon training comes ... yes, the questions about stretching.
Stretching has become a panacea. So let's attempt to put a few things to rest with some good sports sciences evidence - though I suspect much of it may come as a surprise to many.
Let's start with a couple of interesting facts. Research on 5K runners has indicated that the fastest runners are the most inflexible. The increased passive muscle tension effectively gives the runner "free speed" because it's not requiring energy to produce it. Add to that the lack of research supporting the relationship between stretching and ---insert injury here --- [options include plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, IT band syndrome, etc]. So we have to assess stretching by starting with the questions "why am I stretching in the first place?".
Yes, a win is a win is a win. But this win was ugly.
One week ago I was raving at having witnessed the best 30 minutes of football I'd seen by anyone all year. Today, I experienced what was the worst 30 minutes of football I'd seen by the Longhorns all season. Actually, we might want to stretch that number out to about 45 minutes, if you take into account all of the minutes that the defense stunk up the joint.
The sign of a championship team is their ability to come through in the crunch, to fight through adversity, to win games when they just can't seem to get it together. If that is the case, then the Longhorns are truly championship material. As long as today is the low point of the season - at least for the defense.
In the name of the founding fathers - let the damn people vote!
Over the past two elections, we've been exposed to some questionable voting practices. We've seen hanging chads and problems with electronic voting stations. In the past few DAYS of early voting, we've already been exposed to what I would call "extremists" that are trying to influence the voting process by giving people bad information. In Austin, there have been reports of people instructing others in improper voting practices so that they effectively spoil their vote. And that is but one example that we have seen locally, let alone nationally. This type of thing has the potential to make a shambles of our voting system.
And therein lies one of the greatest threats to this great country in which we live - it's the enemy within.
It seems like over the past decade or so, Colin Powell's name has been front and center in the political arena. There were many that felt he should have run for President years ago. He has served as Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as National Security Advisor. His words have always been listened to with great anticipation by many that live here as he has always had a high degree of popularity with the American people.
Listen up everyone - because Colin Powell (the Republican, don't forget) - is telling you something. On Sunday, he formally endorsed Barack Obama. This took place on "Meet The Press" (read the transcript here).
Powell cited Obama's "ability to inspire" and that he is a "transformational figure". He also made note of a troubling trend that we've seen in the past few weeks - that of what I would consider almost religious intolerance:
I admit, I am shaking my head a bit today.
In all honesty, I really didn't expect yesterday's UT/Mizzou game to be quite so ... impressive. I wasn't even sure they'd win. After a big win against OU and move up to #1 in all of the polls, I fully expected a let-down. Chase Daniel got last week's OSU performance out of his system for the season, and was going to get his points, as was Jeremy Maclin. Those things were fully expected - at least in my eyes. Hell. Missourui was one game away from the national championship last season. The question in my mind was "would the Horns survive it".
Wow. Survive? No. It was far more than that!
ESPN's College Game Day was in town for the game. A 7:00 pm start, on a national stage ... and the Horns came to play. It had all the makings of ... one of "those" games. And it was.
... is still Joe. Even in Arabic, it's still Joe.
Poor Joe. He's been unceremoniously dragged into this year's presidential debates. He was just out there in the heartland of America, driving his Chevy truck and listening to George Strait on the country music radio station, minding his own business.
(Don't worry, if it was a Canadian driving across the heartland of Canada, he'd still be driving a Canadian-built Chevy and listening to Conway Twitty, but I digress ...)
I guess the phrase "your average Joe" just doesn't cut the mustard anymore. He's now got to have some superlatives so that you REALLY know that yes, he's just one of us, and that one party knows and understands Joe better than the other party. We've got to label and categorize him, perhaps even patronize him.
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
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