and repeat continued…

I did play golf yesterday.  I walked the full 18, but it was so slow that it was full dark by 17 tee.   One thing worried me, aside from very inconsistent play, my knee was bothering me by the 14th hole.  It didn’t really hurt, it just didn’t feel solid.  This made me very concerned about my pending run.  After golf, i did a full series of stretches, including lots of floor work, and then went for it.  My knee felt better after the stretches and actually felt better after the run than it did before i started.  After cool-down and more stretching and some floor exercises,  i did some research on runner’s websites like this one.  One of the cool things i discovered, in addition to more kinds of stretches and helpful videos of dynamic stretching, is that knee pain can frequently be overcome by strengthening your core and your quads.  I also found in black and white what i had figured out through trial and error, a shorter stride puts less stress on a bum knee.  This is all very good to discover because i would like to be able to increase my physical activity and not have to limit it due to injury or pain.

A quick word on running and writing about running.  I am running for a lot of reasons; to get healthy, to feel better, to lose a little weight and keep it off, to strengthen my core to improve my golf game, to help my lungs and heart heal  from years of bad behavior.  I am not doing this for vanity.  I don’t care about the weight aside from the health issues.  I don’t really care how i look.  Half my family is overweight, diabetic, inactive, and not in great health.  Also, getting rid of extra weight is one of the better things you can do for your knees.  Even though i was young (12, 13?) and healed quickly, i did break my knee and that never really goes away.  There is also a very practical reason.  I hate shopping and i don’t want to have to buy new pants.  There is some insight into why i run.  Why do i write about running?

I know many people out there in situations similar to mine.  We have had great adventures, but definitely made some choices that were not the best for the long-term care of our bodies.  Our awesome young adult metabolisms went on permanent vacation without even giving two-weeks notice.  It can be very difficult to change your patterns and routines and do something new or stop doing something old and ingrained.  I know how much it inspires me to read about one of my friends making a change and trying to feel better about themselves, to do better things for themselves, to break old patterns that clearly were not working and look for something else.  I hope that my struggle might help someone out there choose to take positive action in their own life, or find affirmation with choices they have already made.  None of this is about results, it is about the journey.  That is why i put my numbers up in my blog.  I am only running about 1 mile these days.  I am doing less than 50 crunches.  I have not made it to 10 push-ups yet.  But the small-scale of my accomplishments might help someone else feel better about their own.  Your numbers don’t matter (mine either).  Consistency matters.  Run a quarter-mile.  Do that every day that you can.  In no time you won’t be able to stop your self from running a half mile.  It builds…