Shame on Me...

My bad... haven't blogged in a while, so sorry to those of you who follow the blog on a frequent basis. It's not that I haven't had plenty to blog about, but I was out of town for a good portion of last week, and I didn't have access to the internet for a few days. So anyways, I have some pretty good news.... I am back to pain free running!!! Last Wednesday, I was able to run without any pain after changing my form a little bit. I actually changed my form to what I was doing a few months back, which was from a book called ChiRunning. I hold this book responsible for me being able to run fairly pain-free since last summer. After I read it though, I think I started to slowly creep back into my old habits, which might have led to my knee pain that I was dealing with. Anyways, the morning before I left for my trip, I was able to run 7 miles, symptom-free!!! Yes!!! And it felt so good!!! The only bad thing is that it was pouring rain... but at that point, I didn't care... I just felt great running!!!! The bike is ok, but nothin' close to running. So anyways, while I was away on my trip to South Florida, I was able to run once. I was able to run by my parent's house, which was the neighborhood that I grew up in since I was in 1st grade. Lots of memories for me there, and as I was running around the different areas I grew up, I just remember thinking how blessed I was to have been able to grow up in the same area for pretty much all of my childhood, teenage years, and even collegiate years... I actually was even able to show my wife where I lived in North Miami before I moved to my parent's current house. So let's just say it was a "Blast from the past weekend". So, I was able to run a 5 mile trek through Pembroke Pines and here are some pictures of very special places to me in my old neighborhood.



This is my house that I grew up in for nearly 18 years...my parent's and younger brother still live here... getting ready to run!!!

This is my old elementary school... I won a 4 mile race called the mini-marathon in 4th grade. That was and currently is the highlight of my running career!!!!







This is the plaza that as high schoolers we would hang out at on a Friday night... nothing like chillin' out by the local Blockbuster Video!!!!




This is the McDonald's that we would go to all the time when we were in elementary school and middle school....especially during the summer. My brothers and I would mow the yard, make $5, and buy as many Big Macs as possible...





This is the 1st place I ever volunteered at to become a physical therapist, just out of high school.... only a few minutes walk from my house. As most of you know, I actually was a manager at a CORA for about 2 years.





This is the house that Greg Morris grew up in (Greg is a good friend and co-worker of mine)






This is the baseball field that Greg Morris and I played baseball at year-round. In this neighborhood, baseball was the sport of choice for most of us. A few of us would play in basketball summer leagues, but most of us tried to excel in baseball. We have had a few major leaguers come from our park. The most notable one was Bobby Estalella (In the Mitchell Report he was accused of doing steroids, ouch!!!)


So anyways... that's about it... great run and it was cool to bring out the camera and stop to take pics.
Yesterday I ran 5 miles with my son in the stroller (that is starting to get really taxing, because he is getting pretty heavy to push)Ivy Lake Easy Run

Today I ran 8 miles after working at our South Tampa clinic. Today was so beautiful!!! Probably about 65 degrees at lunch time... perfect!!! (Not to rub it in to you northerners at the RW boards....)