Unlaced and ready for takeoff

August 5th, 2008

Mommy, if running gives you so much pain, why don’t you not do the marathon?

After clocking 14 miles last Sunday morning, I went to sit a meditation retreat for five days. I can testify that running is liberating, up to a point, but freedom from pain is, well, freedom.

Just sayin.

5 Comments »

  1. My dear husband was once a runner and had to quit after surgery to his knee. Now and then he thinks it’s a great idea to try it again … and nope, still hurts.

    Me? I never have had to worry about such pain. Running is not my game.

    Georgia sounds a lot like me. Good common sense, that girl.

    Comment by Shawn — August 5, 2008 @ 10:35 am

  2. I’m definitely questioning the decision to do this. Life would be so much easier right now if I weren’t training.

    Comment by THopgood — August 5, 2008 @ 12:14 pm

  3. I just did a little over 5 miles about an hour ago. I have never felt better. I have never been in more pain. Go figure.

    Comment by Kristin H. — August 5, 2008 @ 2:48 pm

  4. You can still run–just don’t have to do a marathon. I do yoga regularly, and for me, that helps–very little pain with running–if any. Of course the first few years of doing yoga w/ running were very tough–but then I got through it, and now I can do both. I like both of them for different reasons. I’ve done 3 marathons, and luckily probably won’t do one again. I like the long runs though–but sitting after a 20 miler could be pretty brutal. Pushing oneself to a new and unfamiliar distance, calls for a day or two of rest–and some time in an ice bath if you are up for it!

    Letting go of something like running has always been something of a struggle for me. Of course, maybe it’s just a matter of degree. There really is a way for many of us to run pain free. There’s nothing better than a long slow run out on a good trail. It’s the pushing that gets us in trouble.

    Tara

    Comment by Anonymous — August 8, 2008 @ 12:26 am

  5. Tara,
    Thanks for your encouragement. I am a yoga teacher and enthusiast, so I know the truth of what you say. As the mileage lengthens, summer arrives, kids come underfoot, something has to give in my training devotion. And at nearly 52 years of age, I am quite comfortable proving nothing more to myself, only proving no-self.

    But I never say never!

    Comment by Karen Maezen Miller — August 8, 2008 @ 3:53 am

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

archives by month