Herausforderungen » decaying flesh giving way due to neglect

ARCADIA, Calif. -- Lord Nelson, the 5-2 morning-line second choice, had to be scratched from Saturdays $1.5 million Breeders Cup Sprint after having to be treated for an infection in his right foreleg, his connections announced Thursday.Trainer Bob Baffert said Lord Nelson nicked himself in either a recent workout or in his stall. Baffert said a little irritation developed into an infection.We thought we had it under control, but today it was really blown up and we had to put him on antibiotics, Baffert said Thursday. Its a shame because he was doing so well. Hell be all right in five days.Lord Nelson, a son of Pulpit, is owned by Spendthrift Farm, which is where the horse will stand stud next year.Lord Nelson, a 4-year-old son of Pulpit, was undefeated in four starts this year, including Grade 1 victories in the Triple Bend, Bing Crosby and Santa Anita Sprint Championship.Its really disheartening, Baffert said. Theres a championship on the line. He was doing so well. One thing about the Breeders Cup, were always on pins and needles. I never had that happen to a horse this close to a race. It was very disappointing for all the connections because we knew we had something special there.Lord Nelson is the second horse to be scratched from the Sprint. Joking, the Grade 1 Vosburgh winner, was scratched Wednesday due to an illness. The Sprint field is now down to seven horses. Conor Sheary Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Matt Hunwick Sabres Jersey . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. http://www.sabresteamstoreonline.com/authentic-dominik-hasek-sabres-jersey/ . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Thomas Vanek Jersey . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Matt Hunwick Jersey . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. I dread solo runs the way the average person hates tax time. The solitary nature of the run forces me to turn inward, and as a goal-oriented overachiever with a fear of failure, I hate the introspection that these runs cultivate.The thought of spending hours wrestling with my body, willing it to keep going, with no distractions and no community support makes me question my sanity. Ive tried all of the recommended tips and mental tricks, as well as fitness gadgets and apps to make solo running for long distances better.Only one thing has done the trick: virtual runs.I joined two virtual running groups on Facebook because of my love for Harry Potter --?Nerd Herd Running, with money going to the nonprofit Stupid Cancer, and the Hogwarts Running Club, who donates to a different organization every race. When I ran the Dementors Kiss 5K with the Hogwarts Running Club, we raised $45,000 for Miles for Cystic Fibrosis. I liked the idea that the money I spent fueling my running habit also had a larger purpose.Virtual races are runs of a predetermined length that can take place at any location of your choosing during a particular week. You pay the race registration fee and receive a runners bib in your email. Certain running groups require that you submit a proof of time, and after a couple of weeks, you receive a finishers medal.These races dont require travel, so theyre easier on the wallet. And best of all, there are no long lines at the porta-potty.For me, these runs are the perfect combination of nerd culture and running community. Running is one of those activities I never thought I would do. I abhorred physical exercise as a child. I was sedentary in my early 20s from a combination of depression and self-loathing. I wanted to be invisible.One phone call changed my life.It was my 27th birthday, and I needed serious convincing that I should live another year. My childhood friend Jillian called. Buried under the floral comforter in my bedroom, iPhone on speaker, I told her that I am not sure I wanted to continue living.She persuaded me to make a list of all the things I couldnt do, but that I dream of doing. On my list was a completing a marathon.Jill suggested we start small, with a princess-themed 5K. We registered, trained and finished the race together. From there we took on 10Ks and half-marathons and multiple-day challenges.Ive been running, off and on, ever since. Exercise is my version of Defense Against the Dark Arts.?I let my imagination loose on these runs.***Its 5 a.m. when my earbuds go in, and the fusion of sight and sound begins a seamless transition to the Harry Potter Universe. My mind fills in the gaps of my elaborate fantasy. Everyday sights and sounds, with theeir metronomic regularity, transform into rhythmic spectacle.dddddddddddd.My environment becomes animated -- lampposts change into floating candles, illuminating my path. The local YMCA, which towers above the rest of the landscape, morphs into the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, strong dramatic architecture silhouetted against an enchanted navy sky.For the first half of my run, I evade the dark forces. Halfway through, my left heel is sore, and my right knee threatens to be uncooperative.I stop.Thats when the Dementors show up. In the Harry Potter Universe, theyre mystical figures shrouded in black gossamer cloth, and they thrive on despair. Their main purpose is to suck the happiness and good memories out of the people that they come across.In my mind theyre always hovering on the periphery, waiting time until I let my guard down. Doubt doesnt take long to blossom once its taken root -- I know that from near fatal bouts with depression. Those brushes with the spectral always left me listless and unmotivated, wracked with nightmares and harboring the belief that I was devoid of talent.I have to keep running. I make it past a large tree Ive dubbed the Whomping Willow before I was forced to stop again. Up ahead I see a Boggart, a shape-shifting creature that takes on the form of the thing you fear most.The resurrected corpse looks like me, but smells like betrayal -- wet, decaying flesh giving way due to neglect. Brain slightly atrophied, cloaked in anger, frustration and fear. She utters sharp, mean statements: I am not fast. I am not brave. I am a failure.My run has a new sense of urgency, to prove the other me wrong, to conquer the things that threaten to drown me if I ever give myself permission to think about them.I am the protagonist. I cant outrun this variant of myself. I have to face her. I surrender to the run; I stop obsessing about the time.I pull the terrible memories and places out of myself and leave them on the pavement. In this alternate universe, I could be gifted and hardworking, and villains were always vanquished, even though all enchantments come with a price. I dont have to be fast -- I just have to finish.Monsters, after all, can be defeated. I know I deserve to cultivate hope, to have peace. I understand it is my right to be happy. My creativity allows me to believe in the incredible, to not be limited by the bounds of my own experience. I know, at the end of all of this, that I can endure.Latria Graham is a writer, editor and cultural critic. She is currently living in South Carolina. Follow her @LGRaconteur ' ' '