Breaking. Two stories.

I sat in anatomy lab this morning looking at a skeleton.  I've learned all this material before, just too long ago to apply to grad school today.  Hence the repeating of the credits.  (Did you know I'm made of money? Sigh.)

Last week, I was reviewing vertebrae.  I picked up the axis (C2), which is the second most vertebra from the top, and which has an upward-poking process on the posterior side.  The topmost vertebra, the atlas (C1), sits atop that process of the axis, enabling us to shake and nod our heads.  Our skeleton was missing the atlas, and I mentioned this to our instructor.  At first he tried to tell me it was the axis that was missing; he was holding the axis upside-down.  I raised my eyebrows at him but waited for him to figure it out on his own.  It might sound arrogant but I knew I was right. "Nooo sir, that's backwards.  I can show you exactly where I broke my own atlas, and that ain't the bone." 

We found it in another group's skeleton, and as I rolled the atlas in my hands, I wanted to take my lab marker and draw my fracture line onto it. 

I know.  It's weird.  I remember that I wanted to do this last time I took the class too.

One of my bench mates this morning was holding a humerus (upper arm bone) thinking she had the femur (thigh bone).  She leaned over to ask me about a marking she couldn't find, and I gently corrected her.  I showed her how the head and neck of the femur are much more distinct than in the humerus, and pointed out the markings. 

And what do you think I wanted to do?  Yep: draw a one inch fracture straight through the center of the greater trochanter.  It's the projection on our femur where many of our hip muscles insert.  I opened my old lab book to show her a better picture, and sure enough, I had drawn my fracture line onto the picture.

Eventually we came to the forearms, and you can probably see where this is going.  It can be difficult to fit the three arm bones together when you're first learning and to discern left from right.  I like teaching and was explaining how to tell the difference when I realized that in large part, I tell the difference by remembering where my fractures were.  Sigh.

Out of curiosity, after class, I turned to my old lab manual again.  I probably don't have to say what I'd drawn. 

Breaking.  My mind never wants to forget about my body's breaking.  I guess when I hold a whole, unbroken, seemingly concrete bone, sometimes all I see is fragility.

---

A bone once broken heals stronger than it was before.

Tuesday marked one month since my first half-marathon.  I haven't talked much about it and I don't know whether that's because I've run a good number of races now, or because it such a personal, meaningful accomplishment. 

It was so wonderfully low-key: there were 281 participants, compared to the 8,000 that ran the ten-mile.  No corrals.  Plenty of street parking within a block or two of the start and finish line.  I passed a handful of police officers on the city streets, but once we were into the country, there was no need for them - the farmers gladly pulled over.  My favorite part were the course markings - just a few yards of orange footprints, painted around the corners so you knew which way to go.  The temperature was perfect, and it was semi-overcast but not raining.  Open fields, cows, tractors, and local Boy Scouts handing out water-soaked sponges to cool off with, which I think may be the nicest race amenity ever offered.

Mile 8 or so.

Orange footprints around mile 11.

Best volunteers a runner could hope for :-)

It was the first race my dad could watch me finish.  It was a race that he and my brother had run multiple times.  It was only $30.  It was 13.1 miles on the 13th anniversary of my breaking day.

Despite the physical and emotional challenge that my training was this year, and despite the burn of my torn but healing hamstring, I felt calm and strong.  I felt completely detached from any time goal; I knew that my now 11-minute miles would get me to the finish line, and that was all I wanted. 

 

 

She cheered for everyone at mile 10, and then ran it in with me. Mel is the best :-)

 

And she carried two signs since Kelly & Sean were sick.

So happy my parents could be there.

The victory pose, for Lorrie!

And now, a different kind of breaking.  I've run a mere five times over the last month, an easy 5K each time with a 5 minute walk break in the middle.  My hamstring is finally healing.  Better yet, my yoga practice is taking off and my neck is healing in the process.  I finally lifted into bhujapidasana a couple nights ago and I swear to you, my thrill was as great as all those races I've finished.

After my crazy school year is finished, I hope to fill my summer with yoga teacher training, and begin a new studio practice this weekend.

I want to keep racing with friends, but for the time being I no longer aspire to the marathon.  I may change my mind someday, but for now, I'm ready for other things to take precedence. 

Like a deepened yoga practice. 

Like grad school and a new career. 

Like life.