Life Past 30

It has been approximately 5 months since I completed last year’s Marine Corps Marathon.  Since that day, I have been looking forward to running the 2009 MCM, but with better preparation than last year.  I now know what I need to do prevent the extreme soreness I had for the four days following race day.  I realized soon after that day that I should have worn running pants, instead of shorts, a hat, and thin jacket to keep my temperature up.  Upon completing the course, I was quite chilly and I am sure that contributed to the muscle tightness and pain.

This year, however, will be a lot different.   My running plan is more solid and I have found a pair of running shoes that will no doubt help propel me past the last grueling 6.2 miles.  Mental conditioning has never been a problem for me, so finding the motivation necessary to keep me going will be easy.  Once again, I am finding myself excited to embark upon yet another personal challenge.  If all goes well with the marathon, I will also be participating in the American Heart Association Walk in November.

A lot of people like potatoes.  Some even love potatoes, like myself.  My love affair with potatoes began many years when I was just a wee thing and it has never let up.  If anything, my love of potatoes has only increased throughout the years.  It does not matter how potatoes are prepared, mashed, baked, fried, or scalloped, I truly enjoy eating them.  With that said, I will admit that I have perfected the art of cooking homemade french fries and amongst other dishes.  My potato peeler was my best friend in spud preparation until last night.  I was peeling the spuds after washing them, as usual, and smiling at the prospect of sinking my teeth into delicious french fries cooked with onions.   

Well, when I was in the middle of peeling a very large red spud, I suddenly felt the blade of the peeler slice through the tip of my left index finger.  I immediately dropped the peeler and rushed to the bathroom to see the extent of the damage.  After rinsing my finger I held it up for a closer look.  It’s amazing, but half of the tip and a small portion of the nail were cut.  See how I am sparing the bloody details?  The cut is slightly deep and will take some time to heal completely, but I have not had an injury like this since 1996 when I served on Mess Duty in Okinawa.  That time, I was cutting onions with a large butcher knife and ended up completely taking off the left side of the tip of my ring finger.  The knife went left when it should have gone straight down.  That wound healed very nicely and left minimal scarring.  

Needless to say, my finger is in some pain today, but is bandaged properly.  I am not too sure if I want to use the peeler again any time soon, but I will have to eventually as I cannot stay away from the potatoes too long.  I cannot wait for it to heal so I can type without slowing down, too.  Now, on to planning the route I will run in the morning.

For the past three days, I have been experiencing a nagging pain in the back of my right knee.  That is the knee I had surgery on 10 years ago and for some reason, the pain is exacerbated by sitting for long periods of time.  Another thing I have noticed, besides the pain, is some accompanying swelling.  This is more than likely the cause of the pain behind my knee.  Stretching and massaging the area mitigates the discomfort, but only temporarily.  I am quite sure this is the result of running the marathon, but I do not know why it is affecting me now.  It is almost like it was lying-in-wait until I was ready to start training again.  An ambush.  I am sitting here now and constantly shifting in my chair because movement while sitting helps a little. 

I understand perfectly that marathon running puts a lot of strain on the body and that the healing process can sometimes take longer than expected.  Up until three days ago, everything was feeling great and then this new pain showed itself.  I wish it would go back to where ever it came from.  Its presence is only telling me that I need to run a little and soon!  The only thing I can do between now and Thursday is continue to stretch the area and deal with the discomfort the best way I know how.  Did I mention that my knee issues get under my skin sometimes?   

I finally finished making the scarf I started.  The great finale happened at lunch time and wasn’t I the happiest person for about 10 minutes!  It will be worn this evening to help me battle the frigid cold that has descended upon the area in recent days.  Although I have been taking the Osteo Bi-Flex tablets every day, I have been experiencing pain in both my knees, but that is only due to the arthritis.  During the day, I sit right beside a large window that gives me a view of one of the Metro stations and part of the sky.  I was freezing today and the heat is not exactly doing its job.  Right now, the sky is looking quite creepy and some flat, well organized clouds have moved in.  Could that be snow?  I hope. 

Now, as far as my knees go, they are almost normal.  The operative word here is “almost”.  If it was not for the cold temperatures, they would not hurt at all.  The only thing I can do is keep moving throughout the day and make sure I keep them warm.  It might also help if my desk was not so close to the window.  As soon as I get home, I am going to put on my sweatpants and set the heat at 90 degrees for at least 30 minutes, then lower it.  This is coming from someone who does not like a lot of heat, but I must make an exception today.  I’m cold!

It must be the constant rain we have been having here, but I am feeling all of my 32 years today.  Some may say that is not a long time, but tell that to my knees.  It has been raining here since last night and has not let up.  Since this morning, my knees have been swollen, I have been in a slight fog, and the only thing on my mind is the weekend.  Even Osteo Bi-Flex could not fully tackle the pain today.  It must be the weather because I was feeling great yesterday and had lots of energy.

Over the years, I always heard people talk about how one’s body starts to reveal everything that has been done to it as you grow older.  I used think they were loopy or just making things up.  Boy, was I wrong!  I am now fully convinced they were telling the truth as I have spoken with many other people since then who have told me the same thing.

On days like today, it is as if my body reminds me of the crazy stunts I pulled when I was in school and the military.  One of those stunts was when I jumped out of my second story window at the barracks in Okinawa to escape “field day”, a weekly cleaning of the common areas and private rooms of the barracks.  I usually got stuck with stripping and buffing the floors because I made a mistake of doing a good job the first time.  The window was the only way escape since the building was on an unofficial lock down until the cleaning was done.  I can only imagine the damage that jump did to my joints.

Aside from everything written above, I believe some of the pain I have been feeling today can be attributed to my body healing from the stress of running the marathon.  Every now and then when I reach to pick something up from the floor, I feel a slight tinge of pain in my back, but some gentle stretching takes care of that.  I have a date with my pillow and will be turning in soon.  Hopefully the rain will be gone tomorrow so I can feel better.

I used to love winter and the snow that usually accompanied it.  The blizzard of 1982 is my favorite memory because the snow came up to my knees and my mom and I used to throw snowballs at each other.  When I was younger, extreme winter conditions did not bother me as I always hoped for lots of snow.  Now, I dread winter because the cold sometimes finds a way to seep into my body and settle there.  I am sure this is partly due to the high activity levels I maintained throughout my childhood, during my time on active duty, and aging.  I am not that old, but I have learned that everything physical thing you do in your youth has a way of catching up to you as you get older.

Until last year, winters had been brutal to my knees, caused them to stiffen often, and made walking up and down the stairs difficult and painful.  Osteo Bi-Flex has helped me out a lot and taken away the pain, however, I am curious to see how it will help me deal with this year’s cold temperatures.  It has been slightly cold here for the past two days and I have not had any pain, except for when I sprinted for the bus yesterday, and have been able to use stairs without any problems.  If all goes well, I will be ice skating again.

I thought this morning would be a normal beginning to a work day.  As usual, I showered, got dressed, fixed my hair, and worked out the budget for breakfast and lunch.  I use public transportation because it is easier than driving.  Tooling around in a car in Washington, DC during morning rush hour traffic is not my idea of fun, so I choose to use the bus.  This allows me to think, read, or crochet during my trek to work.  As I was walking up the street to get to the bus stop, I saw my bus approaching the stop quickly, so I did what is normal and sprinted.  This was the first time I ran since running the Marine Corps Marathon and it felt weird, but I did it.  I made it to the bus, got on, paid my fare and sat down for what would be a 20-30 minute ride.  When I got up to debark the bus at my stop, I did not expect to feel some not-so-nice pain in my feet and ankles.  I got off the bus and had to walk slowly for the first five minutes just to help my feet feel normal again.  I am now convinced that the little sprint to the bus was the cause of the pain.  I will continue to walk like I have been and try not to sprint for anymore buses any time soon.