Seward Park

Is there anything more splendid than flowering trees near water?



Seward Park is full of endless vistas.



Seward Park was a WPA project during the Great Depression.

Yesterday was Arbor Day. My company donated one million trees to be planted by the Arbor Foundation, of which 2200 are Douglas Firs that will be planted in the Seattle Area. The rest will go into national parks and forests, including those burned out last summer in the wildfires. Trees remind us that there is both a past and a future that does not include us, but from which we can learn.

"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance." -- Confucious

Penny cancelled the six mile walk in Everett today because they have inches of snow on the ground. I walked in very cold and wet weather at Green Lake, for three miles. I miss the Kindred Spirits team, but want to be 100% when I go back to training up north on the slopes and hills.

"What does not change/ is the will to change" -- Charles Olson

My trainer and I talked this morning about how we find ways to get keep ourselves motivated and focused. It's tough, especially working back from an injury.

Super Jock & Jill has physical therapists and sports medicine specialists in their store every Thursday evening. Tonight my feet were examined closely, as were my orthodics, by a professional. The Saucony shoes got swapped for Nike men's shoes that have less support but one important distinction: there is no rubbing, no pressure, nothing but fabric over and near the bunion. I probably do need stronger orthodics than I have right now.

I can start to walk again more than a mile at a time with some confidence that I won't get worse rather than better.

Times Three.

On the road to Green Lake by 5:45 even though back seems tight this morning. I did a mile only, with stretching on both ends. Tomorrow morning, lower body training with Amy in the gym.

"Every wall is a door." -- Emerson

I walked Green Lake yesterday morning with no difficulties, and no consequences, except for a sore bunion. I walked again this morning in old shoes, without problems. I'm going to see if I can do that on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of this next frenzied week, along with training on Tuesday and Thursday. I feel so much better when I walk. It clears out my head and my heart.

"Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out." -- James Bryant Conant

I did manage to walk the 2.8 miles around Green Lake yesterday, though it took me about 20 minutes longer than usual. I stopped to stretch often. I don't think I did myself any harm at all, and it was certainly fine to be out in the open air.

Now that I know about the psoas muscle and its tendency to tighten, I'm able to keep myself a good deal more comfortable with the right stretching exercises. There's an excellent website called thestretchinginstitute.org.

The Mighty Psoas.

We have a name for my hip/back problem finally. I have a sprained ligament and a strained psoas tendon. I am glad to know what the problem is, because I can modify my patterns to better correct it. It will take 8-10 weeks to correct a ligament condition, and I am 3 weeks in. Both my trainer and my doctor agree that sitting is harder than walking for me. They do not feel that walking will set me back if I do the right kind of stretching before and after I walk. So I am going to give it a shot tomorrow. Not sure yet if I'll go up to Mukilteo for the 4.4 mile team walk; or simply take a shot at 2.8 miles at Green Lake, a terrain I know very well and where I can always easily get myself back home if I run into problems. The challenge is a metaphor for life: to break through the fear that something worse will happen if you simply try. I have become a cautious creature, and know that I need to move back to the confidence and joy that comes from walking.