The 26th Half Marathon that I DID NOT Run! April 5, 2009

A Bit of Disappointing News

It has been a while since I went to the doctor for a check up. Declining race times and feeling “flat to negative” got me thinking something might be amiss. My training has been less than aggressive. Less time, less energy. I really thought that poor training might be the real issue. It may still be part of the problem. Maybe twenty-five half marathons in 2 ¼ years may also be a factor.

Hmmmm, it was a mystery.

But not any more! A couple of months ago, my doctor called me back for an afternoon visit after a morning appointment to do one more measurement. I have never been in a doctor’s office twice in one day unless I left something behind or tried to sneak out to avoid paying the co-pay, and was promptly returned to the office by the security guard.

It seems the old fella (me, not the doc) needs to accept the fact that he has a family history and cannot eat anything he wants. Blood pressure was a little high but my afternoon “high sensitive c-reactive test” was off the charts. Darn. It was medication time.

I was about as angry and depressed as any athlete of nominal ability could be. I looked at that bottle of pills for a week before taking my first one. The bottle even ended up against the wall a couple of times. I think that is called denial. Stupid and stubborn may also replace the word denial in the previous sentence. Jokingly, I ask the doctor if the meds would help improve my times and training. He laughed, and told me the meds will NOT help my performance or training and may, in fact, slow me down. He said, “Athletes hate this medication.” That did not thrill me. I may have to call Barry Bonds.

So, I was going to run my 26th half marathon today, under a small cloud of disappointment and (believe it or not) left over anger. But I did not run it. It snowed last night, the conditions were not great and I was tired after a week in New Mexico and Arizona. The drive was not in me. Depressed might describe my feelings.

I suppose I have a reason or two to never run again or even attempt my 100 Half Marathon goal. But I will keep at it because I have learned that the disappointments usually fade and are not nearly as bad as they seem at first. The “fading” part just takes a little more time with me. Plus, as most of you know, I can be as dumb and stubborn as a box of rocks.

Yet, I am an incredible physical specimen of Lebanese decent and I think I will bounce back from this. If not, well………., I won’t quit……… I’ll just FADE to the back of the pack!

Blessings!