A fate worse than mine

Thank you, Lamar Odom.  If there is one thing that must be worse than a sore back, it has to be getting caught in front of worldwide media with arm pits full of deodorant.
 
Today was Lakers Media day, and for the the 11th straight year I had the opportunity to watch swarms of local, national and even global media fight to get as many photos, videos and interviews as they could of the NBA champs in about 90 minutes.   This year I was working with KCAL's promotions department getting the players to lip-sync to a new song by Brian McKnight that will help promote this year's games.

After four hours of setup and discussions, my back was starting to get a little sore and I knew that the hardest part was yet to come:  standing on a riser for 90-plus minutes shooting a bunch of really tall guys trying to dance and sing to a song they had never heard.  One by one they would come in and give it a shot.  Kobe Bryant:  reluctant, but pretty good.  Ron Artest: surprisingly good.  Sasha Vujacic: funny.  Jordan Farmar: ridiculous.  Adam Morrison: abysmal.  And then it happened.  By now I've been holding my posture, as directed by my PT Gary, for quite a while.  My back muscles were really getting challenged and I needed a break with none in sight.  And then it happened, Lamar walks in and begins his groove.  The newest member of the Kardashian family (no, Khloe wasn't there with her new husband that she's only known for six weeks) was actually doing a nice job.  He had the smile, the timing, the moves.   But his mistake would be one that he now has to live with for eternity: lifting his arms revealing the curds of milk I find in that forgotten carton that sometimes hides in the back of the fridge.  Wow.  For a moment I was able to forget about my back.  I had to think that someday soon I will recover from my injury, but would Lamar recover from this?  One of TMZ's newest stars and NBA champion was caught with the remnants of wet, powdered donuts hanging from his pit hairs.   The NBA is very specific about dress at team events:  The players' uniform shirts must be tucked in and shorts can't be longer than one inch above the knee, business casual at team and league events with no jeans, hats, do-rags or clunky jewelry, and sport coats for players attending games they are not playing in.  And while Lamar gave me a moment of relief today, it also almost made me sick.  So maybe this will set a new rule that requires all players to wear invisible stick, because if we must look at their pits, they should be free of mold and mildew. 

That's what friends are for

That's what I needed.  A little inspiration to write my first post.  I received a call this morning from my buddy Brian Lawlor who wanted to let me know he was on his way to Augusta, GA to swim, bike and run the Half-Ironman 70.3.   He has already done a full Ironman (left) and a bunch of other events, including the Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon which we ran together back in 2005.  With the weather reports from Georgia, it seems it would be swim, swim and swim.  Maybe the waters have receded enough now that you can actually bike and run.   For me, however, it's been none of the above.  My 25 years of having a 40 pound camera on my shoulder, slumping at an edit station and generally bad posture has finally, for the time being, taken away my absolute favorite hobby and passion.  My physical therapist and orthopedic surgeon have told me I will run again, but it will take some work.   The day after I ran the Bolder Boulder in Colorado back on Memorial Day 2009, the symptoms began.  My back was really tight and knotted up.  The sharp pain in the center of my back on my spine was so acute, I thought I was going to throw up.  Over a course of weeks, the headaches came on along with tingling in my face, left hand and left foot.  After seeing a few different doctors, I eventually got an MRI and was diagnosed with thoracic kyphosis and a herniated disc in my cervical spine, causing a mild stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal canal.  My PT, Gary, believes that the kyphosis, or irregular curvature of my thoracic spine is the primary source of the problem.   The biomechanic goal: to increase my extension, straighten up the thoracic spine, reduce the stenosis, improve the posture and strengthen the back.  My personal goal:  to once again feel the thrill of being alone at 6am, seven miles away from home at the top of Palos Verdes looking back at the Pacific Ocean, Malaga Cove and the lights of the South Bay... knowing I have seven easy running miles to get back home.  Another marathon awaits, along with the half Ironman and then the Ironman.  Someday.  So I wish the other Brian good luck this weekend.  Have a great event Bri... and hopefully it won't be long before I can join you out there again.  Until then, it's a lot of PT, boring elliptical, keeping up with my son Jack... and chasing an elusive gutter-gnawing destructive squirrel that is tearing up my house.