Why We Run

I was flat out unmotivated today, that’s a fact, it was my first day back at work after vacation and I was not enthused…I had picked up 2 more reports in my absence and I could forecast the specter of a landslide of work coming my way as a result of the “do more with less” philosophy permeating my organization.

I wrestled with these thoughts all day.

In the mist of these thoughts a close friend stopped in to tell me that he was done, done with the job, the schedule, politics…He was done, and he was washing his hands and moving on.

He apologized for leaving…

No apology necessary.

My wife graciously packed my gear this morning to help steer me in the right direction, yesterday we ran, played, and stomped our way through a 5 mile trail run.

But that was yesterday, and today is today.

Unmotivated to the last…

My indecision followed me out to the parking deck at the end of the day, and then a strange thing occurred. The slightest ray of sunshine found its way through the depressed concrete to kiss me on the cheek as I loaded up to leave.

A subtle hint I surmised as I returned to the bathroom and fumbled through changing out of my suit, I pointed my car north, & six songs later, I was moving down the trail with stinging sweat in my face, my legs burning to adjust to the hills and grades that have been so neglected out of the necessity of recovery.

Work be dammed, and indecision put aside, I run because I can, because it makes me feel alive.

Ankle Arthroscopy (The Finale)

This will probably be anticlimactic for most people, but I thought it was cool enough to warrant one last post.

After 9 weeks into the adventure of my ankle Arthroscopy, I had my final follow up visit with my Surgeon on Thursday.

Because of my almost monk like devotion to my physical therapy I have regained a significant amount of range of motion in my big toe and ankle.

One of the other options would be to fuse the entire joint together, for whatever reason anytime I hear the word “fuse” combined with any body part I cringe. (No thanks)

9 weeks is not the end of the road for the procedure either.

The Doc explained that it would take an additional 2 to3 months for full recovery which for me would mean that I could go out and run maybe 5 to 7 miles without issues.

He also gave me his blessing to begin running again, which was what I had been waiting 9 weeks to hear.

His only caveat was that I could run for about….wait for it…..10 whole minutes.

I got home from work, grabbed the dogs and the wife, and went for a half mile jog in the middle of a killer rain storm on the trails at the house.

It was awesome.(I had very little swelling afterwards which the Doctor said was normal).

Probably the coolest part of my final visit was that it turns out my Surgeon is also an avid mountain biker, so he hooked me up with his email and were going to try and schedule a ride.

The fact that the guy who did my surgery understands riding and probably has some level of love for the sport, gave me a sense of kinship throughout the process and speaks volumes in my mind to his character.

It’s pretty wild how things work out…

Steve