https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH7W60V4X2E
I’ve been running in Brooks shoes for many, many years. From my Brooks Beast that I wore for stabilization in college and until I rediscovered regular running in 2012, to the Racer ST 5 which I’m burning through regularly with my recent mileage, they’ve always been good to me. I love my running shoes, it’s one thing I won’t skimp on. Happy, healthy running = happy, healthy Ken. So as soon as I get close to 500 miles, its time to lace up a new pair. I’ve already got a fresh pair just waiting for my current shoes to wear out.
These have been dark days, but I couldn’t help but smile when I saw this recent ad from Brooks. It’s an incredibly well done ad (just like the shoes) and it pretty much sums up things for me lately. Those zombies… thats how I feel most of the day. The continuing health issues from being hit by that mini are killing me. Pain, agony, frustration, plus the reality that my brain still isn’t the way it should be. Stupid Ken strikes again basically describes everything I do these days. I spend most of my day in bed, which is certainly not the way an outdoorsy, active person like myself would like to pass time. What little time I can drag myself out of bed… I’m slow, creaky, brainless and the last thing a sane person wants to see… just like those zombies. It’s making me crazy. I want this suffering to end, to just return to the way things were a few months ago. While far from perfect, I was healthy then, and that made all the difference in the world. Now, I’m pretty much a zombie.
Then, every time I reach for my running shoes… every time I set out for a run… I feel life coursing through my veins again. I don’t usually move nearly as fast as I would have been pre-roadkill state, but (and this is crucial) I FEEL ALIVE AGAIN! For that one or two hours, I am alive. In pain? Yes, certainly. But my why is far more powerful than the pain, and I run on. I can’t be crazy about it… I know that, and no crazy hard workouts for a while still. But a nice easy run is still a run. Every time I get that run in, just like those zombies, my body flows smoother, and my attitude shifts. Running makes me feel alive. Running makes me happy. Running is an essential part of who I am. A million things may change around me, but that one thing will keep me going regardless. Running is transformational.
Yet, that was nearly taken from me in December. My life, my health pushed to the brink. But I’m still here. I needed to get back up and run. That is precisely what I did, and what I will continue to do. I learned in Boston how quickly the things you take for granted can be taken from you, and how important it is to appreciate everything and everyday. Then in December I was given a brutal reminder of that. Right now, I may not have much. But I have my own two feet and the ability to put one in front of the other. I can still run. I am still alive. I’ve got many more miles in front of me