I’m 47 …. and out of shape.
Regular readers may remember a bold series of entries I posted last year under the promising category title, “The Big Runaround.” Prompted by factors of advancing age, neglected health and a desperate initiative to inject a little bit of focussed discipline into a life recently rocked by sudden job-loss and multiple deaths in the family, I started a regimen of running. It seemed like all I could do.
Over the course of the next few months, I brought myself up to speed, streamlined my approach, augmented my routine and was beginning to hit my stride, so to speak. Almost on cue, however, I started developing a pain below my right knee. Not wanting to risk seriously injuring myself, I sharply curtailed my running in the hopes that the pain would subside.
In tandem with the knee pain, I’d also started to feel an old familiar pain in my shoulders flare up again (invariably due to stress). With these two complaints in mind, I started visiting a chiropractor, who swiftly deduced that I was suffering a bit of misalignment (although, truthfully, no one’s perfectly aligned) and that I was putting an inordinate amount of my weight on my right side, which might explain the pressure I was feeling below my right knee.
As a result, I started going in for regular adjustments and traction in the hopes of lessening some of my misalignment issues. This also involved orthotics in my regular walking shoes and, once again, the determination to properly update my running shoes.
Now that winter’s over (….right? Is it safe to say that yet?) and spring hath sprung, I believe I am ready to get back to my running regimen.
I’ve gotten the green light from the doctor, but I’m still a little concerned about my knee. I mean, at my age, it seems like no matter what I do, it might just be too late for my knees.
That all said, I am positively pining to reclaim the peace of mind that running was providing. I realize that sounds awfully melodramatic, but it’s easily been one of the most turbulent periods of my life.
It’s now been ten long months since I was actively employed. I am fortunate enough to currently be in talks with a few specific outlets, but momentum is hard to sustain, and I continue to wait for a solid offer from the right situation. If you know me personally, you know that I am always in something of a state of alert, but being stuck in the round-the-clock state of worry that has basically consumed my life has taken a toll. The runs helped combat that. When I couldn’t run anymore, it all closed in again.
Intent on getting back to it, I checked into my local Super Runners over on the western end of 14th Street today. Not wanting to simply pull a random pair off of a shelf at Foot Locker, I decided to spend a little extra — hopefully not in vain — for a more professionally-assessed fit. I walked out of there with a frankly ludicrous looking pair of new, customized Asics (see above).
While these shoes may indeed be stridently at odds with my own dubious fashion sense, I really don’t give a crap how they look. As long as they fit, responsibly support my feet and enable me to run, I’m good with them.
Tomorrow morning … we find out.
Recent Comments