It would be no secret to those who have seen me lately that I haven’t been running that much. Over the years I’ve much enjoyed getting around on my own two feet, traversing over some substantial distances and to some spectacular locations. I’ve always enjoyed being able to do so, transportation by personal locomotion. But I haven’t been able to do so with regularity of late, switching from getting around to simply getting…round.
Two years ago I ran into a situation where I had to endure PT, physical therapy, for a knee that had been abused for 40 years. To be fair, both had been abused, but one ended up having arthroscopic surgery and the other was on the waiting list for it, however there was a bit of a stay of execution as I was able to make my way back, being a bit younger and resilient. However things change and almost fifteen years later the same sort of things which had interrupted my running back then came back to roost now. I was going into the winter and decided to pull the trigger and seek treatment.
Up until then, when I got injured I’d take some time off, probably too little, and get back to running as soon as my body let me. I knew there were probably exercises I should be doing, but in my mind, and to alleviate my mind, I’d get started in running and if that worked, that was my solution. (This is where I say to those who are younger, do not follow my example.) I wasn’t into cross training, why? Because it is the running I love, not a bicycle or a treadmill. Then, the quicker I could get back to running was the only answer.
Fast forward, in my advanced age, the oversight of my youth has landed me in this situation where my general decline in being healthy impedes my ability to get back to where I want to be, and that’s out on the roads and trails doing the thing I love, running. It’s certainly been hit or miss over the last couple years, the road back not a straight one. Ever since the PT, my consistency has been complicated by strange and phantom leg cramping, tight calves, IT band issues, and the list goes on. And while the work schedule doesn’t help, it shouldn’t stand as a real excuse.
Seven weeks back, Gretchen and I took a running vacation to Arizona, one I chronicled in another SS&OTs, running different spots along the Cocodona 250 route and visiting the Grand Canyon. When I booked the trip in early January, I had hoped to use the trip to advance my running in preparation, but this winter was a doozy. Not only were the roads treacherous to run on, I ended up getting sick and never really got my running on track. I was able to get out a bit here and there, but not what I was looking for.
But I was determined to give the running a real go when we were out there. While I knew I wasn’t in good shape, we weren’t on any time schedule and I was able to run/jog all the places I wanted to get to. We did Watson Lake, the Hangover trail, and Bright Angel trail into the GC. It was more work than I wanted it to be, but it was start, things looking up from here.
Or so I thought.
I returned home to real spring, the front lawn greening in our absence. I hurriedly got going on around the house projects, one of those being a large pile of leaves needing shredding, to be added as mulch to the landscaping. I was hoping to get a short run in over the afternoon, looking to shake out the air travel, but I never got that far. While shredding leaves I incurred an injury to my left ring finger, macerating the tip all the way through the fingernail. Safe to say I didn’t get out the door for a run that day, or the next, and so on.
It’s been seven weeks and yesterday I got cleared to go for a run. My fitness is the lowest it has been probably in the 59 years I’ve been on the planet. As an active child who found structured running in the seventh grade and participating from then until now, I’m sure I’m in the worst shape that I’ve ever been. Which means I’m really starting from scratch this time. I know it will be slow and I know it won’t come easy. But I also know that as long as I keep going it will get faster and easier, so that’s the plan.
And I’m going to chronicle it here. I hope I will get to share some of the milestones without misrepresenting the setbacks. And while I’m certainly making a comeback of sorts, I know I won’t get all the way back. Those indiscretions of youth will still bar my progression, the achy achilles tendon and multiply-rolled ankles haven’t gone anywhere. But wherever I get is better than rock bottom and that’s pretty much where I currently reside. So up we go.
I’ll see you out there.
