Life Past 30

Since running the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon, I have enjoyed eating what I want and even started eating red meat again.  I have found roast beef quite enjoyable, but still won’t eat it too often.  Besides that, I have consumed my favorite food, homemade french fries, countless times.  To be honest, I have not worked out much and have been enjoying life without daily training.  The extremely cold weather was one factor that kept me inside most of the time with the exception of going out with my family and going to work.

However, running has been on my mind every day and I have been creating a training plan that will be better than last year’s plan.  Of course, this year’s goal is to run the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon on October 25 at or under five hours.  I have completed a few small runs to assess my current level and now that the weather is mild enough to not cause extreme “lung burn”, I am ready for more training.  The past three months have been challenging in the fact that I have not been able to run as much as I wanted, but now that I’m completely healed, I will commence working toward my goal.

I am excited, but not nervous like I was last year because I know what to expect.  This year, my weaknesses will be obliterated and I will be 100% ready to take on the challenge of running 26.2 miles again.  Just writing about it is enough motivation!

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!

For those who don’t already know, I completed the 26.2 mile Marine Corps Marathon on October 26, 2008.  Immediately following the finish, I was in pain and ate everything I could to help speed up muscle recovery.  Since then, I have been taking it easy, walking a lot, and watching my diet.  All this aided in helping me become pain-free by Halloween.  Up until yesterday, I was feeling wonderful and decided to go for an evening walk after work.  The pace was normal for me, which is fast, however, I began feeling a little pain in the back of my right knee.  This is the knee I had surgery on 10 years ago.  Luckily, it was not pain associated with an injury, but rather of fluid build up.  I slowed my pace to isolate the exact origin of the pain, soon realizing that the back of the knee was slightly swollen.  When I got home, I immediately began massaging the area and then propped my feet up on a pillow.  From that point on, I relaxed until it was time to go to bed.  The last thing I want is an injury and will take extra care when walking to prevent one.  The walking will continue at a slightly slower pace than my usual until whatever is irritated in my knee heals itself.  When I start training again in three weeks, it will be slow and methodical, yet beneficial.

This is day I was waiting for since crossing the finish line.  All week long, walking and wincing in pain, I kept Friday in front of me like a dangling reward.  Although I felt better yesterday, Friday has been stuck in my head because it means the beginning of my first free weekend in three weeks.  It signifies the start of me being able to get as much sleep as possible without having to wake up to the clock for other obligations.  When I woke up this morning, I felt refreshed and could not wait to get the day started.  I have been wearing a smile all day because I know that as of close of business today, I will have the chance to crawl into bed and stay there for as long as I wish.  Nothing could be more satisfying to me at the moment.  I just want my pillows.