You see many an old man jogging.  It's commonplace.  Almost cliche.  You see as many old men jogging as anyone else though there aren't as many in the population.  It's because their doctors tell them they need to do something to get active or die.

But...  you never see them really bookin', do you?  Ever seen an old codger running full tilt?  I haven't.  Old coots don't sprint.  Almost to the man, you don't see an old man running.  Why not?

Maybe I found out.  Almost two weeks ago, I did something very foolish that I'd felt was my right as a human being.  I ran.  I full tilt ran.  Something about running as fast as I possibly can brings me a small surge of joy.  I run when I feel most alive, child-like, spritely and it pleases me to know I'm faster than a great many men my age.  Or must I say "was" now?

About three hours after my sprint, my spirit was moved to jog the rest of the way to my car.  A splendid  shock of pain stabbed my right knee above the kneecap and I limped it off for the next week.  Walking was tolerable, walking FAST was not.  Jogging was out of the question and if a grizzly was after me, I would have had to face it down, because I sure wasn't outrunning it.

I felt old.  I felt crippled and worn.  If I got joy from running, there was forlornness in being restricted to a plodding WALK.  I regained the ability to power walk after a week of healing and I've even risked a jog to catch an elevator or two with no ill effects.  This has become important because stairs have been a challenge to the point where I can't do nearly the amount of housework I've done before.  I had to rely heavily on handrails to get up stairs and I feared I was doing more damage by pushing on weakened knees.  Over the past four days I have been taking stairs without hand rail use sometimes, but my knees have felt as though they aren't happy about it.  I won't attempt more than one flight without hand rails and no more than 3 flights with them.

For that reason I recently altered my fitness goals to concentrate on returning to some previous level of mobility. Stabilization of my knee joints through leg muscle development is the current goal and that is reflected in the decreased length and increased intensity of the cycling workout.  The weights are on hiatus again though I'd barely started picking them up again.  I'd been doing weight regularly once but it was always upper body strength I'd been seeking.  Perhaps my legs are now spitefully expressing their resentment at my having given them short shrift.  The question is: how much do I love running?  Do I love it enough to commit to an exercise program?  I'm dreadfully afraid I won't.  Exercise is the first thing to get wiped off my agenda on a busy day and I have more far more busy days than relaxing ones, by design.

Perhaps I can be a negative role model for others as my lack of discipline to create and adhere to an exercise program contributes directly to the withering of my body and my unnecessarily premature demise.  I know I have 30 years ahead, but doesn't it make sense to try to make those years active and joyful?  Surely it does, but life intervenes.


* DM