shakespeare

to thine own self be true.
~shakespeare

someone mentioned the above line in a discussion earlier this week and i've been turning it over in my mind ever since. what does it mean to really live authentically? being true to yourself and your beliefs, whatever those may be? and how do you know whether or not you actually are living authentically?

i think i am still figuring out who i am and what i believe. in reflecting on the past though recently, i have been realizing there are people who have been with me through all of it--the major/career changes, the injuries, the religious confusion, the list goes on. in many cases, i suspect these individuals had a better idea of who i am/was than i did, and i find myself wishing i had spent more time with some of them when we were geographically close and hoping that one day we may be again.

injury update: my hands are healing quite nicely and the pain in my arm is not nearly as acute as it was a couple days ago. i can almost do arm circles without my deltoid hurting. my knees are still bruised, but they don't get stiff everytime i stand up anymore. my stride is back to normal when i'm running, though i've been working on shorter strides just to decrease the impact force, and consequently the force, on knees experience. i'm going out for a 20-miler in the morning, so i guess that will be the real test.

for anyone who has seen the article (in the nytimes) about stretching and how it can actually make your muscles more tired, its true. we've known this for awhile. the article contains a pretty good (i.e. basic) physiological explanation of why. here's another interesting tidbit: if you're a distance runner, it has been shown that there is a greater likelihood of injury if you stretch before a marathon than if you don't. david lally, a professor of physiology at univ. of hawaii, performed the study in the early 90s.