A journey in of itself.

 

Yesterday did a 50 mile run. May not have been the distance I wanted but it is the distance my body gave me and the contemplations to go along with them.

 

I chose to run a 0.5 mile loop near my house and used my garage as the aide station. 100 loops later, I got my 50 miles. Lots of fears to process, and plenty of time to process them.

 

Here is how it went down.

 

330am get ready. Lace up the shoes, grab the trusty watch, check the flashlight and the running light vest. 4am hit the road. I knew this was going to be hard. I knew it was going to suck at some point. I knew I was going to regret getting out of bed with only 4 hours of sleep. But I did it anyway. It was time to push forward, time to stretch my body and mind.

 

It was cool, pitch black outside, I ventured out as the city slept. It took some time to get used to the darkness, and every little sound I flashed my light in that direction presuming it was a mountain lion, a bear, a fox, a vampire. Anything that can bring me harm. It was quiet. The birds were snuggled in their nests. Not for long. With early day break, the birds began their chatter, bossing each other around. The sprinklers started up their pumps, irrigating their owners’ lawns. ( the sprinklers came in hand when the temperature went up dramatically, and a quick dive into them cooled me right off).

 

I do not run with AirPods, music, podcasts anything. Just the busyness of my thoughts, my breath and heart beat. The sun peeped its head gradually, appearing also sleepy, spreading outs its rays across the neighborhood, like a child stretching its arms from slumber while yawning.

 

I was pacing at 11 to 12 min/mile. Decent. Every few miles I would come to the garage, refuel and off I went for more loops. I did do 50 loops clockwise and 50 loops anti clockwise, just to make sure I was not nauseous lol. I met a few neighbors I had never met before as they were walking their dogs, or beginning their lawn care duties. Nice people.

 

While running I saw a small rock on the street in my path. I thought let me move this so I would not trip on it while running in the dark. It turned out to may have been a piece of dog poop. Ugh. Another dive into the sprinklers took care of the hygiene problem I now faced.

 

One of my friends is an amazing world marathoner Amy Jacobson. She joined me on for a mile. My training run was her recovery run ! Nothing life goes as planned. We can prepare, improvise and adapt, but in my experience I have rarely seen things go as anticipated. Everything went fine for the first 23 to 24 miles. My cardio conditions was excellent. That was not my problem. I suddenly started having massive hip cramps. Painful enough to make me lightheaded and in agony. I had to pause, stretch and use my theragun to hit the sore cramps.

 

I began to try to systemically troubleshoot as a doctor/athlete would. I was adequately hydrated per my clear urine, so that was not it. I had been consuming enough bananas, apples, oranges, carrots, cucumbers, protein bars, nuts, liquid IV, electrolytes. I salted some more just in case. With great difficulty I pushed through the cramps and continued. Now my pace was 13-14 min/mile. I looped back for more nutrition regularly. Could it have been that I had done 10 miles of running every day for 7 days and walking in the hospital on call leading to 94 miles of being on my feet just prior to this adventure?

 

I crossed the marathon mark 26 miles, reassuring and got to 30 miles. The soreness was exponential. I pushed to 40 miles. My pace was slow enough to walk. Then the best thing happened. My friends Brian J Palazzi and Beverly Palazzi showed up to keep me company. They knew that by now it becomes more of a mental than a physical endurance game, and I would need support. Till then apart from my son running 4 miles with me, my daughter riding her bike for 2miles with me, the rest was all a quiet self endeavor of patience, perseverance, preparation. I got a wind of fresh air to see their faces. Since I was already walking, we continued for the next several hours till 1030pm for 10 miles of loops.

 

The conversation was much needed. Humans are not meant to live in isolation. We need others. I needed them. My family who were the best support crew till they had to leave for some kid activity, left me with a void. These friends came at the right time, right place for the right purpose.

 

Enjoying the Sunrise while the early part of my run and a sunset into the latter part of my journey was beautiful. We know the sun rises and sets, but to be awake for long enough to watch this happen is humbling. To feel the love and support of the universe is tremendous. Since the dawn of humanity we have looked to the stars. It was magical to witness the same stars that countless generations of ancestors have raised their heads to see with wonder.

 

These angels of mercy walked and walked with me. They kept my mind entertained long enough for me to ignore that my legs were just dragging along the road. 50 mile buzzed on my watch. I was done. My family and their support was invaluable for me to complete this adventure.

 

I learned that anything is impossible until we make the choice that we can do it. But the equation is not complete till we take action. We may fall short, but we are invited to keep going. We may not reach the stars but we won’t just an end up with a handful of mud either. This run was a choice, and its consequences of soreness etc. Fitness is not just about shaping our bodies, it is about shaping our determination to shaping our life.

 

So today will be spent on rest, journal my reflections, writing to be shared, mobility/stretching and consuming all the missing 4500 calories burned yesterday, and of course navigating annoying stairs and trying to get off the potty without help. The only injuries so far are muscle soreness, loss of 3 lbs of weight, blister on toe and walking hunched over and shuffling around like I am 100 years old.

 

……………..

 

I love you

 

Future contemplations post forthcoming…

Love medal and signs kiddo made me