Pickles n' Tickles by JJ

FOR some reason, I was thinking of my childhood sports hero today. She was more like a superhero really, but well, that doesn't matter.  With a headcover I was nine during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and was glued to the TV, watching the games, and the very first time I saw her on the track, I was taken up by the super-human appeal. As a child, it was one thing to see someone run  that fast but I was also smitten by her sense of track costumes, hair, nail and make-up. Very flashy, 80s and the world was tuned to her. Much like an American superhero. She touched the finishing line with a victor's smile. I felt all that energy bursting through that little TV that hung in our bedroom. It was over-powering and instantly began my adoration for American athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner or famously known as FloJo.  If you remember her (although I believe if you had seen her, you'd never forget her), FloJo   was the fastest woman of all time. She won three gold medal...

AFTER weeks of tests and follow-up check-ups with different doctors which started earlier this month, I'm diagnosed with something called the Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome  (CECS). It's an uncommon exercise-induced condition in which increased tissue pressure within a closed muscle compartment compromises blood flow to the muscles and nerves within that compartment, resulting in potential tissue and nerve damage. In simple words, it means that I have to quit running, kickboxing and boot-camping as not to aggravate the condition, which also means a complete change of lifestyle.   CECS I'm still at lost here. My only references are my podiatrist and every article I can lay my hands on. This condition is not like a heart-attack where I can share notes with my father-in-law and half the world's population. Not that I'm asking for a cardiovascular condition instead, but this change of lifestyle is not going to be easy. Yesterday, I went swimming as th...