running

A bonus to my new hobby:
the need for shoe shopping!

Last week I mentioned that my brother and I were going to start training for a triathlon. What I didn't
mention is that I'm not a runner, cyclist, or swimmer. Running, in particular, is something that I've always wanted to do but my body does not seem to naturally do well.

When I was in junior high one of my "friends" told me I didn't run well because my hips are too big.

In high school, after spending a week on crutches due to tendinitis, an orthopedist told me the real problem was that my kneecaps are crooked.

After breaking a couple bones in my feet in college and rolling a 4-wheeler over my right ankle just a few years ago, a full body scan showed flames of arthritis in both feet and all the way up my right leg. (It seems I also fractured my right tibia at some unknown point in my life.) This makes everyday walking -- rain or shine -- a painful process, so running seems out of the question.  

But for the past several months I've felt pulled toward running, and my brother's invitation sealed the deal.

I'm reminded of the summer after I broke my feet. The previous summer I spent building up my arm strength because I was in a wheelchair. But the next summer I logged over 100 miles on foot, trekking all over the Grand Canyon.

The first hike down to the bottom of the Canyon was excruciating. My ankles gave out at one point and sent me skidding head first down the canyon trail. But having the medic pick rocks out of my damaged hands was nothing compared to the radiating pain in my knees and ankles from simply hiking down the 7 mile South Kaibab Trail. I was so grateful to soak my legs in the icy waters of the Colorado River before attempting the 9 mile Bright Angel Trail back up to the Canyon rim.

But that is the only hike of the entire summer that I remember being in pain. The more miles I logged, it seemed, the less I hurt. I ended up with a blister on every toe when my brothers and I hiked rim-to-rim -- 24 miles in 24 hours -- but by that point in the summer not even 10 blisters could slow me down.

Not running is probably the worst thing I could do to combat arthritis. Whereas running can help loosen up those joints, freeing me to enjoy everyday life. My pull toward running is not because I'm a sadist, hoping to inflict more pain upon my already pained body, but because I see freedom on the other side.

EMBRACE RUNNING.

When we succumb to our fears, they can cripple us. But when we push through the initial discomfort, we can be set free.


Racing through Born to Run, by Christopher McDougal, because it is just that good! "There's something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure. We run when we're scared, we run when we're ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time."