Back in July 2008, I participated in my first run club event. Up until that point, I had been living in Delaware, going to law school, and taking several classes a week in muay thai and jiu jitsu. My cardio was great. Law school was not. When I dropped out and moved back to Pennsylvania, I figured I’d stick with the classes I had been enjoying so much. Unfortunately, they were nearly 2x the cost in Pennsylvania as in Delaware. I didn’t have the cash so I decided to take up jump rope. 3 minute rounds with 45 second breaks in between for a total of 90 minutes at a go. Then, I got bored. I happened to drive by a sign for a 5k that weekend. The details of how I turned my ill-fitting running socks into a bloody bag of toenails aren’t that interesting. The salient bit is that I signed up and was hooked.
In November 2008, I ran my first half-marathon. I did a great job training and was more than ready for the race. The weather was lovely all week–in the 50s. Race morning, it was 12 degrees. No matter how I stretched, my body just couldn’t adjust to the dramatic swing in temperature. I got to mile 3 and, despite the fact I didn’t pivot, trip, or anything else, I felt a tear. I had no phone and no way to contact my ride who was meeting me at the finish line. I dragged myself another 10 miles at a surprisingly respectable pace and finished my race.
For the next 3 years, I was out of commission. I couldn’t walk comfortably or run at all. I couldn’t sleep without pain. I was confident that I had done some serious damage.
I saw multiple orthopedists. None of them were interested. Finally, I saw a doc who was willing to listen to what I had to say. We made a plan for surgery. He couldn’t promise anything but had a strong suspicion of what we would find once he cut me open. He was right. After surgical repair of a torn IT band (something that usually happens in catastrophic car accidents) and shredded meniscus and 6 weeks of PT, I was ready to run again.
When I got back into running, I stuck with my previous MO. I wanted to run for the long haul. 3 days a week (the fewer consecutive days, the lesser the chance of injury) with cross training in between and the fewest miles necessary to complete my running goals. I’ve stuck with this plan for my whole running career.
Still, I’m a little twitchy with walks and runs. It’s like when the weather suddenly gets nice during the dead of winter and you convince yourself that you can bank miles, no matter how many runs you’ve already been on in the days prior. Those extra 10 miles in January will help you when it gets icy in February or you get too busy in July. Yeah, right.
Since my diagnosis with Wolfram syndrome I’ve been both careful to not overdo it and also cognizant of the fact that I have no way of knowing how much longer walking and running will be feasible for me. Vision loss hasn’t slowed me down (much) but I realize neurological impairment might. I hadn’t thought about it in these terms until recently but now I understand why I’m constantly going through running shoe inserts and refusing to sit down.
#glaucomaniac #goingblindguy #charlesbonnetalldamnday
richiekahn 