Bataan death march marathon

About 2 months ago, Traci, one of my Alamogordo friends, asked me if I felt like joining her in a marathon hike over the Organ mountains in Las Cruces... With vision of the beautiful Mountains and memories of good times fresh in my mind I said yes without much, if any, thought...

As the weeks went by, training, minimal at first, halted and consisted mainly of spending time at altitude (in Santa Fe, although not always in physically active ways ;-) ) and quite extensive "carb loading" ..... We did do a fair training hike last weekend -about 15 miles- along the Rio Grande River here in Albuquerque...







So, the weekend came and after spending time with friends, an extensive pasta dinner and early bed time on Saturday, we found ourselves Sunday morning waking up at 4.00 am to be at the registration at 5.30 am and the starting line -together with about 5400 others- at 6.00 am....

Mile after mile of hiking, a little jogging, plenty of toilet stops and more banana's, oranges, trailmix and cerial bars than I have ever eaten in one day, we did cross the finishing line, 26.2 miles and about 7 hours and 16 minutes later, worn out by the hills, the loose sand and the wind gusts....

Through the opening ceremony and as the day went on and I saw plenty of military participants, including Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with obvious physical disabilities tackling the challenging course with enthusiasm and determination, I learned about the march itself....: It honors a group of World War II soldiers who were responsible for part of the Philippines. They fought in a malaria-infested region, surviving on half or quarter rations with little or no medical help, outdated equipment and virtually no air support. On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of soldiers were surrendered to Japanese forces. They were forced to march for days (over 60 miles) in the scorching heat through the Philippine jungles. Thousands died and those who survived faced the hardships of a prisoner of war camp. The 3 to-date survivors were there greeting people at the starting line of the race...








Wind, wind and more wind...



Mile 18 -I think-





Back at Traci's house in Alamogordo... still standing!!!



Some phone calls to share our achievements and a long hot shower... and the aches and pains decreased enough to have a little celebration party at Jesse and Cathy's house afterwards -Cathy and Tammy ran the 15 miles in great time!!! Congratulations!!!!!-...

It was so great to see everybody and visit Southern NM again, the place where my wonderful South-Western-USA time started, now more than 6 months ago....





Jesse, so proud of his climbing son...





My 'other' boyfriend, Conrad... ;-)

Rehab...

Work is going well... After the initial negativity surrounding the work environment, I have slowly gotten to know some great co-workers and am still enjoying most my patient interactions.....

One of patients is recovering from a significant stroke, suffered in January of this year..... He is a fun, great guy, life philosopher and Harley Davidson fanatic... Upon his discharge, he gave Nadine, the OT, and me a Harley t-shirt... I'm not a "biker chick", but love the gift... ;-)!!!

Spring Break in the Jemez mountians...

A 4-day weekend...., a log cabin in the Jemez mountains, gorgeous alpine terrain, natural hot springs, ....
That combined with an abundance of french pastries (breakfast, lunch or desert anybody?) and obviously great company.....???!!!

Plenty of highlights but here's one of them:

We decided we wanted to enjoy the San Antonio Hot Springs but were trying to avoid running into too many people enjoying the same luxury of soaking in the natural hot tubs in great scenery.... So we left at about 4.30 am, hiked 2 hours by moonlight in time to enjoy a beautiful sunrise over the mountains whilst soaking in the springs in below freezing weather, surrounded by snow....
When I was taking a relaxing morning nap floating in the pools, Doug was plotting the rest of the hike back to civilization.... This included climbing up to the mountain ridge off trail and bushwhacking our way back... The amazing views, a praline-sugar-high and the sound of crushed snow underneath our hiking boots more than made up for the "temporary uncertainty" of trail/direction... ;-)
We did make it back to town safely for the very anticipated panini lunch -did not have to melt snow for water or plan the next night shelter- and relaxed the rest of the day.

Unfortunately my camera battery gave me some trouble at the hot spring site but this cleared up later...







Fashion in true balance to sun protection ;-)....

Update on life ...

It has been a few weeks coming... There is a reason I haven't updated my blog quite as regularly and religiously as the previous months... No, I'm not struck by illness, immobility, computer challenges or too much work.... There is a wonderfully positive reason for my lack of writing: I have met a kind soul named Doug and have been spending much of my free time enjoying his company!!!!!!!

I am smiling even more than the past few months -really, that is possible!!!-, the bounce in my step since entering New Mexico is just a little more energetic, the days look even more rosier and brighter than before....




LIFE JUST REALLY IS GOOD!!!

A life of meaning and purpose...

I came across this on a friend's website and it truly resonated with me...

The Invitation
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Canadian Teacher and Author

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Can life get any better?

Well, where do I start? I think this is the longest I've gone without any postings....Oops... I'll do better again... promise...

It is hard to describe the high lights of an all-round amazingly fabulous weekend... It's like the flip side of moms telling their kids not to stick their tongues out or frown as their faces might stay like that for the rest of their lives... Well, I think my face has taken on a permanent smile....

An almost full weekend in Santa Fe;

- hiking up through the packed snow to Raven's ridge (11.000 feet I think) with the most amazing views of the surrounding area's, enjoying a peaceful meditative nap on top of the ridge before snow shoeing (or skipping, sliding and falling ;-) ) down in the fresh snow, off trail, between the trees back to the ski basin... just -barely- before sunset...
- riding a bike through Santa Fe, I did discover that mountain biking will never be my activity of choice (I am very happy both colar bones are still intact and there were no summersaults over the handlebars ;-)... but just riding through town was great and made me think of so many places in Europe where this is a real way of life... (or at least a way of picking up fresh pastries ;-) )...


Views from Raven's Ridge





And than there was carrot cake and apple pie.....(Well, it was more like a basket of delicious fresh apples wrapped in fresh pastry with a generous caramel topping...), great dinner, wood burning fire place, ......


Yes, it really was this dark when we got down from the trail.... Santa Fe by night...

Sandy's visit....

To make up for the trials and tribulations of last week, I had an absolutely wonderful weekend with my friend Sandy visiting from St. Louis. She is a devoted mother, lawyer turned artist, writer, an OT and PT packet deal, motivator, philosopher, business owner, great friend and conversationalist, visionary, iconoclast ( ;-) ).... The world needs more of her!!!!



We had a weekend filled with laughter, deep conversations, problem solving sessions of any possible issues of the world or either of us,... in between very tasty meals, shopping sprees at the cute art shops and galleries in Madrid and Santa Fe, a visit to O'keefe's museum and resource library and a beautiful drive along the Turkoise trail....
Monday morning came 'round way too soon....



Some intersting finds along the Turkoise trail....

Oh what a week....

Monday, I had a "sucky' day at work. No need to explain beyond "junior high attitudes". I tried to raise above it and went into work with a positive attitude on Tuesday..... I was pretty successful until I was about to go home and found my purse without wallet. It was stolen out of the locked hatch above my desk. All gone: credit and debit cards, cash, MO drivers license, library cards, store cards, credit card receipts,... all GONE!!! The worst feeling really; I just wanted to quit the job right there and then and get the hell out of Albuquerque never to set foot in the place again.... Luckily, that lasted all of about 30 minutes! I had to meet with security and risk management (an obvious inside job), I cancelled my cards and security went through trash cans and searched the hospital grounds..... I must have looked pretty pathetic, lost and sad because people started to give me cash to get through the days to come... I collected over $300 in less than 30 mins.... Good to know I do have skills beyond PT and if the going gets tough, I could always go into a second career as a professional panhandler...

I had to take Wednesday off to take care of stuff and very naively thought the MO driver's license bureau were really as friendly and efficient as they initially appeared. I found out later that was a magical illusion but I guess helpful at the time... I will eventually get things organized but it's going to take significantly more phone calls, faxes, letters, and frustrations than I had initially thought and hoped...

2 years ago...

Two years ago tonight, I was putting the last few items in my big duffel bag... Ready to leave for the-Tanzania-trip-of-a-lifetime tomorrow morning..... It's hard to believe it has been 2 years....!

Another week gone by...

This really was a week without too much to report; Work is unchanged, I feel comfortable and certainly don't dislike it but there is very little interaction apart from some of my patients. It's a good experience in the sense that it's all part of my decision making process for what to do professionally and where to go more long term.... So I'm running with it and am making the best of it.

I went to a interfaith "meditation for world peace" event yesterday afternoon and meditated in a huge hall with glass walls on the West side of ABQ overlooking the Rio Grande and the Sandia's... Very powerful! I met some nice people who will be organizing a silent 5 day retreat in April that I'm considering signing up for...

Today I hiked 14 miles along the Rio Grande river. It's pretty much a flat trail and I'm still tired!?!?! I'd better get in shape fast: I've agreed to join Traci in the Bataan Death March marathon hike over the Organ Mountains at the end of March. From what I hear it's called "death march" for a good reason.... So I'm spinning tomorrow, running Tuesday, stair climbing Wednesday,... That's the plan anyway, we'll see what will expire!!!!