Stop and smell the … dandelions?

Forget roses, forget lilies, forget sunflowers and buttercups, I love dandelions. Always have. As a kid I’d run through fields of dandelions, taking in their bright yellow sunshine hue, and that pungent spring scent, and the second I saw the ones in their last days, I was the first to multiply them with a quick blow (and a wish) of their diminished petals. I am one of those people who, if I had a lawn, the bylaw officers would be pounding my door down, because there is no way I’d be mowing it – it would be a field of beautiful, contagious dandelions. Heck, mine and Mario’s first dance at our wedding was to Dandelion by Audioslave. Love them!

And recently, with the prevalence of spring upon us, I’ve been reminded of another greatness that is the dandelion. Its scent doesn’t make me want to hurl while running! It’s true, I have a rather sensitive nose with heightened activity. It’s not just cigarettes that have me plugging my nose for cleaner air, perfume, pine needles, barbecued burgers, roses, wood mills, exhaust are all on the no-scent zone. But not dandelions!

Mario and I went to the Chris Cornell all-acoustics concert on the weekend and it was amazing! His voice seriously melts me like chocolate in my mouth, no other way to describe it. For almost 20 years, I’ve been listening to his music, and this was the third concert of his I’ve attended (once for Soundgarden, once for Audioslave, and now Chris Cornell stripped down … le sigh!) and not once has it been disappointing. Although, I almost went all Chuck Norris on the group next to us. It wasn’t a large facility, it was just a really intimate atmosphere, and these people would not shut the heck up. Seriously, if I had a few five-pound bags of rice with me, they would have been stuffed down their throats! I’m not violent, really I’m not 😉

What music speaks to you?

So last night at Pilates, I noticed that my left leg looked a little shorter than the right, and I started freaking out. I have a long history of that leg getting jammed up, and with the Toronto half marathon a week and a half away, and me not seeing my physio for another week, I think I had every right to freak out. I did not like the prospect of running two hours with that sucker flared up the entire time. And on top of that my shoulder has been giving me major issues, no idea what I did to it. So, I did what any girl in her right mind would do. I posted a rant about how I’m falling apart on Facebook. Turns out, it was the right thing to do. My favourite speed skating Olympian suggested I look into Active Release Therapy. Being the desperate case that I was, I called around until I found a place that could fit me in this afternoon.

After getting real personal with my butt, the doc informed me my sacrum was misaligned and my hip rotators were über tight. Oh joy. He explained what he was going to do – pretty much knead my ass – and he told me, with the most serious look I’ve ever seen, that it would be uncomfortable and to brace myself. So he starts kneading away and moving my leg back and forth and I’m thinking this ain’t so bad, I’m tough, I run marathons, everyone else must just be a bunch of bab… holy crap! There! There! There! The pain! The pain! My only defense was to grip the table and hold my breath, but when I looked up there was a kid-made sign telling me to breathe! Not nice. And being the proper, pain-loving runner that I am, I’m going back for more torture on Friday

Have you ever had active release therapy? What did you think?

3 thoughts on “Stop and smell the … dandelions?”

  1. I think thats what eddy does to me, when he kneads my muscles. Man it hurts, but works. As for scents while exercising, i have to avoid running by english boxwood bushes. I curse the people who line their yards with those things! And music for my soul? Van Morrison. It’s like he reaches in and massages my heart. My parents were big fans and so now, its just something that completely soothes me.

  2. You are in for a treat when you have a preschool age child. They love to pick and give the dandelions, and lots of them!! Although the other day, R ran ahead of me and picked me a tulip right out of someone’s garden. He was so proud and had a smile from ear to ear so I didn’t have the heart to tell him he shouldn’t do that !

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