I had the good fortune this year to be on hand for the 29th Ironman Hawaii World Championships in Kona this past weekend. Once again, we were given an amazing race with some amazing human performances. Every time I've been to Kona I have been reminded of how special this event really is.

I want to reflect upon a number of surprising (and perhaps not-so-surprising) observations that I made during this year's race. Let's start with the obvious ones - those that seem to occur on a fairly consistent basis from year to year ...

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The best option with regards to running injuries is to simply not get one in the first place. Unfortunately, if you take the data compiled by Runner's World magazine, 60% of runners will sustain an injury within a given year that will cause them to alter their training. I can only imagine the statistics for any given marathon training program.

I would always go back to a simple caveat - if you're training, you're getting more "fit" (faster, stronger, etc) ... and if you're not, you're not. If you're injured, you're not training. If you're not training, you're not getting "fit". Simple.

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I finally watched "The Motorcycle Diaries". At the prompting of my friend John, I took the time to watch this movie. When "Rhubarb Diaries" was born, he'd mentioned that "it could be like the Motorcycle Diaries". Now, I am certainly no Che Guevara (and I've not been south of the equator either), but in watching the movie, there are some aspects that ring true to me.

Don't worry, this is not about becoming a Marxist revolutionary!

You have to peel away a few layers of the onion to understand it all. There is a sense of growth in Che's adventures throughout South America. There is a "knowing" that something stirs within him ... that would take him some time to fully understand. He was learning more about himself - and was learning how he would indeed impact the world. As he explored with Alberto, he discovered things within himself ... discovered a passion, discovered his own voice.

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I would suspect that if you read Part 1 of this series, you've probably been left with many questions. Perhaps there are some points that are counter to what you believe to be true - or what you've been told to be true. What I would offer at this point is that "evidence-based medicine" starts with evidence - which is science-based and not belief- or anecdote-based. In the process of finding better ways to look at injuries and their optimal and effective rehabilitation we will almost certainly be uncomfortable with what we discover along the way. It is the ability of the clinician in dealing with this objectively that sets them apart and frees them to find the best options.

If there is a discrepancy of viewpoints regarding the assessment of running injuries, then it snowballs immensely when we discuss treatment options.

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It seems that New Year's Day (and New Year's Eve) is always an "event", the celebration of many things ...

... another year that mankind has survived ...

... another year that the planet has gotten just a little bit hotter ....

... another year that will lead me to write the date incorrectly for at least a few weeks ...

... and another year that the Toronto Maple Leafs go into their run for the Stanley Cup ... but I digress ....

Resolutions are made on this arbitrary day ... the day in which the calendar changes.

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It's that time of year again. Fall will soon be here (hard as that is to imagine when it's 100 degrees outside) and training programs for the AT&T Marathon and Half Marathon in Austin will be starting. There will be hordes of runners on Town Lake on the weekends. From the perspective of "health", it's great to see people out exercising. Unfortunately, this time of year also brings with it a plethora of running injuries.

Since that's the case, this is the first of a three part series on running injuries.

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I just came back from a trip to Canada - to see my family. Some friends of mine think that "going to Canada" entails "going on vacation". I would suggest that "going to Canada" entails "spending a lot of time with family" ... and that's not always a vacation!

After a number of days of great conversation and catching up with family and friends - I am exhausted.

Five days can go by very fast. Since I only get home about once a year (go ahead, interject the "bad son" thoughts here before you read further), it seems like you take those 5 days to get caught up on all the goings-on from the recent and not -so-recent past. Add in a reminiscence or two and lo and behold, you're ready to head back to Austin.

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