Monique Polak

I woke up one morning this week with a really sore knee. Uh oh, I thought, this could have a seriously negative impact on my life. First, if I ever had to stop running (and after a certain age, many runners do), it would curtail my cookie-eating habit. I am, if I may say so myself, a very good cookie maker and a frequent cookie consumer. Also, running helps me manage stress and it helps me WRITE.

Luckily, something in my knee made a weird cracking sound later that same day and the mysterious pain vanished. So, I'm off for a run now. But I'll be working on my writing at the same time. Today's the day I've set aside to write the first draft of my Maclean's story about teenage boys and their interest in Internet porn. So, I'm going to review my notes (I've got about 12 pages) and then I'm going to take my run. While I run, I'll let my ideas percolate in my head -- and when I get back, I'll take a shower and get to work. See why I was worried about that sore knee?