It's the journey, and the destination.
I haven’t suffered any real injuries from wearing my Vibram Five Fingers, the glove-like “shoes” I’ve been running in for the past 10 months. However, I came dangerously close to a very serious injury from a snake bite last weekend. While the shoes didn’t provide any protection in the way of coverage, the issue was actually the light running form they help me run in.
A wave of relief rolled over me with such force it spilled out my eye in the form of a tears. All of the emotions that came with 9 months of pain, agony, and finally progress rushed back to me as I exited the office building of my back doctor, head high with no pain.
It was a cool Saturday morning in the woods in the appropriately named town of Woodside. I was excited, but not overly – I had been practicing and training for this moment for a long, long time. In a way, I had been waiting for this day ever since I was a teenager. I spent countless days dreaming of how amazing it would feel. Especially at the end, after all of my hard work paid off.
I have to admit, there were some days last week, when the pain crept back, that I began to wonder if I’d ever be free from it. During these times I feel like I’m sliding back down the mountain, passing everything that I thought was progress.. I begin to doubt if I’ve really made it that far, or if it was just a mirage in the desert. Will I ever be able to make back into the real world? Or am I banished for life to the land of the invalids?
There’s something wrong with me. Something I need to fix ASAP. I’ve come a long way over the past 7 months, but I’ve forgotten that. Seven months ago I was lying in bed suffering from a severe herniated disc that left me unable to do more than watch movies and read books about running. I wasn’t even able to walk to the kitchen without being heavily doped up on vicodin. Yet even now, after being able to walk again and even do some running, I too often find myself feeling badly that I can’t do more.
We’ve all heard it from time to time – we shouldn’t sit at our desk so much. We need to pay more attention to proper ergonomics or we’ll get carpal tunnel syndrome, become fat, or even get a bad back. But is sitting really that bad for us? Well, I found out the hard way that it’s even worse than that.
I should have known things were too good to be true. I guess I just got caught up in the euphoria that comes with having my condition improve for the first time in over three months. I began to think I was almost back to normal. Turns out I’ve forgotten what normal is. I made plans to return to work and live a relatively normal life once again. Well, I jumped the gun. Back to earth I came crashing.
Great quote from the New York Times in 1909: “There is reason for viewing with considerable apprehension the sudden popularity of the so-called Marathon race. It is only exceptional men who can safely undertake the running of twenty-six miles, and even for them the safety is comparative rather than absolute. The chances are that every […]
A few nights ago I dreamt that I was running freely down the trail in perfect form. There was no pain, no limping, no concerns whatsoever. Instead, I was having the time of my life. As I recalled the dream the next morning I was once again filled with the joy I had during my dream run. It was incredible just how much fun I felt while I ran.
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Carpe diem!
Seize the day. I’m trying to live by this mantra. A year ago I couldn’t walk, sit, or even lie down without being in a ton of pain. Even doped up on Vicodin. I longed to be active. To run. Jump. Climb. Now, after eight months of pain, five months of rehab, and countless hours dreaming […]