John's Blog

Sometimes it's so easy to take things for granted. Unfortunately, you find you really appreciate them when they are no longer there. But a good thing is that you value them even more if they return. After having my butt kicked in the winter months with my little bout with pneumonia, I began to get back to my normal activity levels by spring including my exercise. I had pretty much returned to my typical running routine, and decided to treat myself and retire my old, worn-down running shoes.

The first time I hit the road in the new shoes, I felt a sharp pain, but I thought I could just run through it and let it work itself out. That was a mistake that soon made my error in judgment impossible to ignore and I would up limping back home. Normally when these things happen, a brief break from working out allows for recovery time and I find myself back on the streets as good as new in short order. Except that this time, everytime I resumed my routine the pain returned.

Not to tempt fate, but I tried again this week, and so far, so good. It felt great to finally be able to pound the pavement and see the old familiar sights. Trust me, if you could bottle the effect that running has on mood, energy, and stress management it would be available by prescription only. And if the pharmaceutical companies could figure this out, I'm sure they would do so without hesitation, and charge a pretty penny for it as well.

The endorphins may have been pumping through me yesterday, because I saw a runner wearing an iPod who dropped her keys and had just recovered them as I passed, and I had the uncharacteristic urge to lecture her. I wanted to give her advice on how to better manage her keys and warn her on the dangers of running with headphones. But remembering just how unwelcome unsolicited advice can be, and not wanting to create the impression that I might have been hitting on her, I kept it to myself. Too bad, since the headphone issue is a serious safety threat.

I hope that I can continue without any further setbacks. Unfortunately, during the last two years I've have had increasingly frequent injures to my knees and now my hip. If I could get my milage base back up I'd love to do another marathon, but that remains a dream for now. A saner person might concede that they are growing older, but I'm seldom confused with a sane person. I find myself appreciating far too many of the 25 Signs that Your Getting OLD to suit my liking:

Your back goes out more than you do.

You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.

You are proud of your lawn mower.

Your best friend is dating someone half their age, and isn't breaking any laws.

You sing along with the elevator music.

You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

People call at 9:00 p.m. and ask, "Did I wake you?"

You answer a question with, "Because I said so."

You send money to PBS.

You know what the word "equity" means.

You can't remember the last time you laid on the floor to watch television.

Your ears are hairier than your head.

You talk about "good grass" and you're referring to someone's lawn.

You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.

Tags: life experiences, pointless rambling