A Great Day for a Run

changes

2011-04-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, this Boston (in 10 days...yikes!) will be my last marathon for awhile. Not for forever, but at least for a bit. It's my 10th which seems like a good place to stop. That and I am starting doctoral studies in the fall part time so full time work + part time school means less time for 20 mile runs.

Running Boston for the second time was important to me, mostly to prove to myself that qualifying the first time wasn't a fluke. But now I have 3 BQs and I'm getting tired of marathon training. Shank probably just rolled over in his grave but I think I need a break from it. Not a break from running, just something different. I'm also kind of disturbed by the circus around the Boston Marathon. I love running it but it selling out in 8 hours is ridiculous.

Since I started this blog research and advocacy around CTE has really taken off. I'm so proud of the Sports Legacy Institute and I feel fortunate that Shank's story is eventually going to help people avoid the same pitfalls. My mom and I are working on Shank's page which will eventually be found here along with the other legacy donors.

readings

2009-10-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you (who are you? i don't think anyone reads this!) a number of important articles that have recently been published. All deal with traumatic brain injury and the after effects years later.

The first, a piece by Malcolm Gladwell (an excellent story teller- I would recommend all of his work) really affected me both because it took a very interesting approach to looking at football head injuries (comparing football to dog fighting) and it included interviews with both the doctor that performed Shank's brain autopsy and Chris Nowinski, someone that I really admire and that I worked with in trying to establish the BAA charity program (we are still working on it! fingers crossed for 2011).

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladwell
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/ask/2009/10/questions-for-gladwell.html

The second piece was similar, but probably as important because it was in the widely read NY Times and finally moved the dialogue away from just NFL players. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/sports/ncaafootball/22concussions.html?_r=1&hpw
Shank didn't play in the NFL but were the injuries he suffered any less because of that? Of course not. We need to stop worrying about only NFL players because they are the famous ones and start figuring out what to do about kids playing football and suffering repeated concussions.

1 year anniversary

2009-09-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

So it's been almost an entire year since Shank passed. Hard to believe. It really feels like I got that phone call only weeks ago. How do you commemorate the day? Do you celebrate the person? Do you mourn? In my case, I am doing what he surely would have done- running a ridiculously long race in preparation for my next marathon. Life goes on: left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot....

Updates

2009-06-23T04:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I last wrote. I am debating whether I will use this space to continue to blog about running and fundraising for SLI, or whether it was just useful for that one event. I don't know that I will have answered that question by the end of this post!

We completed the application to become an official charity partner for the 2010 Boston Marathon, which was very exciting but we have no idea if we will be chosen as only 6 new charities will become partners. I really hope the people at the BAA realize how important it is to continue to do research on head injuries and how much community service CSTE and SLI do in the Greater Boston community. If not I guess I will just run it again (assuming I qualify again(!)) and try a new fundraising strategy. I hope that being done with grad school will give me more time to focus on things like that.

This time of year is my least favorite for running. My allergies are terrible and every run is like breathing through a straw. It's awful and takes all of my energy and will power just to get out there. These are the times I miss Shank the most because he would tell me just to suck it up and get out there, whether I did 2 miles or 20. That is the kind of kick-in-the-a$$ I need now.

In other news, we got a puppy and that has been taking up all of my time and I am loving it. She is so cute! She's not a runner yet, and will probably only ever be able to run 1 mile at a time, but I can't wait.

thanks!

2009-04-22T08:55:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the support! I had a great time running the Boston Marathon- I was really trying to just soak it all in and enjoy it as Shank would have done. I feel great and am happy to report no injuries, just sore legs. It was truly a great day and one I will not forget. As Shank would have said, what a great day!

countdown

2009-04-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I have made it this far and am still healthy and sane. If you have the opportunity to donate please do so prior to the race (April 20th) as I will be working with SLI to figure out if this is a good fundraising option in future years. I've heard from a few people that they've had trouble donating- I think the easiest way to donate and make sure it goes to Shank's fund is to write "Sports Legacy Institute-Shank Paradis Fund" on your check and mail it to them at
Sports Legacy Institute
230 Third Avenue
Waltham, MA 02451-7528

In future years I hope to have an online donation area for Shank-fund money but at this time we're working with what's already in place.

Wish me luck & hope to see some of you out on the course.

bracelets!!

2009-03-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

Yay! The bracelets have arrived. They are green and say "Shank Paradis Fund" on them. I am rocking mine right now. If you donated let me know so I can mail it to you!

This blog mentioned in Phedippidations!

2009-02-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

Steve mentioned A Great Day for a Run in his podcast Phedippidations. Check out his website for the podcast or search for it at i-tunes.
http://steverunner.com/

Thanks Steve!

ouch

2009-02-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

I sprained my toe (yes, this is possible) and so I ran the Bronx half with friends instead of trying to run a good time. I was just happy to get the mileage in without any pain after missing 2 days last week and worrying that it was a serious injury. I am ordering the bracelets this week so let me know if you donated so I can send you yours. Enjoy the nice weather this week!

Oldie but goodie

2009-01-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

This is from my first marathon. Shank convinced me to run and helped me survive. Judging by how happy we look I am going to guess this was prior to mile 23 :)

Updates

2009-01-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

I just ran the Manhattan 1/2 in 1:47. It was 14 degrees at the start! I am pretty pleased with the race as a barometer for training since the course is very hilly and the weather was so cold. I have another 1/2 in 2 weeks and am hoping to run between 1:44 and 1:45.

I'm starting a facebook group about the fundraising so I will post more about that soon. Thanks for stopping by!

AJ

Training, mailings, etc.

2009-01-15T06:37:00.000-08:00

So things are progressing on this front even though I haven't written in a while. I am currently working on the mailing to send to people requesting them to consider a donation (thanks for the help & advice Tashia!) and deciding what the bracelets will say. Then I will be hitting you all up for some financial help :) We've started the Shank Paradis Fund at the Sports Legacy Institute and I really hope this is something we can keep going for years to come.

Training is going really well even though the weather hasn't been so great. I think I'm already at a better fitness level than this time last year so I am optimistic that it will be a good spring with another PR and another BQ in the process. I am running a few half marathons as training runs this winter and my school schedule is better than last semester so I think I can keep up the mileage for jan-feb-march. April 20th is fast approaching!

Again, stay tuned!

NPR story

2008-12-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

If you missed the NPR story on concussions and the NFL you can listen to the podcast: http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2008/12/concussions-and-the-nfl/

Details are coming along and I'll get some things worked out over the holiday break. I'm really excited for the marathon and I think it's going to be great.

Happy Holidays!
AJ

stay tuned...

2008-12-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

We'll (Mom and I) send out some sort of mailing in January to let you all know how to send in donations or pledges. Right now I am thinking that asking for $1 per mile is reasonable. Obviously any little bit helps.

We're also ordering those silicone bracelets Shank liked so much as a thank you to those who donate. Blue? Green? What should they say? All of these details are TBD (as soon as I'm done with finals!).

TGIF

AJ

More info

2008-12-09T17:05:00.001-08:00

Here is Shank's obit from the Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/10/06/sheldon_paradis_coach_avid_marathoner_at_68/

Intro

2008-12-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

It could be rain, snow, sleet, black ice or worse. Sheldon "Shank" Paradis would run in any condition and it was a sure thing that at some point during the run he'd say "what a great day for a run". Any time I have difficulty getting out the door after work I can think about how much he enjoyed the simple process of putting one foot in front of the other and it gets me moving.

Shank passed away in September. He suffered from Alzheimer's, possibly from the multiple concussions he sustained while playing high school and college football. Up until his last day he ran- for the last 5 months it was up and down the hallways of a nursing home- but he ran and logged his miles in his running log.

This April I'll be running the Boston Marathon to raise money for the Sports Legacy Institute, (http://www.sportslegacy.org/) a wonderful organization that is taking the lead on exposing the harsh reality about traumatic brain injury. Shank was there when I qualified for Boston and I'll never forget how proud he was. In this blog I'll share info about training, ways you can donate to SLI and other musings. Thanks for checking it out.