Hello New Brothers and Sisters. And thank you for being here. I have already found the wisdom in all of your posts invaluable.
Moreover, I am extremely grateful to have discovered there are others out there like me. I am ecstatic not to be alone anymore! Unlike my real family, I have a new family that understands me and my need to run. I finally have someone I can talk to!
Don’t get me wrong – I’m also grateful for my real family. After all, they are just concerned about my health and wellbeing. My 87 year old mother thinks I’m “nuts.” My daughters are a bit more kind. They classify my desire to keep running as one of my “eccentricities.” My real brothers are less kind. Whenever we meet one of them inevitably exclaims, “How can you run? You can’t even walk!”
I have also been reprimanded by strangers who have stopped their cars to offer me assistance after watching my awkward gape. I didn’t know my limp had gotten so bad. And get this: The other night I was lectured by one of the young kids at the track as I slugged my way around the outside lane. Even hardcore runners think I’m crazy!
Maybe I am a little crazy? Perhaps. But I guaranty I would be a lot more crazy if I gave up running. I came to this conclusion, very painfully, at one of the trail races this past summer. My daughter brought a lounge chair so I could sit at the finish line and watch. Imagine that! I used to race every week (in the middle of the pack). Now I was reduced to a lounge chair? I cried that night. I don’t care what the doctors say. I WILL NOT GIVE UP RUNNING! THE PAIN FROM NOT RUNNING HURTS A LOT MORE THAN ANY PHYSICAL PAIN GENERATED BY MY OLD, ARTHRITIC BODY.
I have exhausted all other treatments and remedies except those offered by faith healers. It is time for me to come out of my state of denial. It is time for me … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)