I had a good friend who used to advise me: “It’s great to be king, until you weaken.”

I have difficulty admitting my own shortcomings. I really do.  Hrmm. But I’ll give it a try…

I’ve been weakened for the last couple months with sciatica (neuralgia along the sciatic nerve) on my right side and have had incising pain from my butt down into the sole of my right foot with almost any motive activity.  I have, nonetheless, continued to run fairly unabated. 

The problem has been that my running hasn’t been very inspiring or fun since every step has consisted of a shot of stabbing pain and, when done, I would feel like somebody had literally kicked my ass.  I abhor pain killers other than aspirin and decided that I’d just run through the pain and come out the other side.  As if the pain was a forest that I could cut a transverse straight through without getting lost in it.

I needed to obtain a knee brace (about a month ago) since the pain was causing me to gimp imperceptibly yet enough, nonetheless, to throw the mechanics of my knee out. And I have ‘cut short’ a few running ventures (from 7 to 5 miles, or from 5 to 3), although I have still totaled 20-40 miles every week this summer regardless.

Over the past week or so, on the insistence of my daughter, I’ve begun stretching more rigorously both before and after running.  In particular, I’ve self-discovered that by balancing on one foot while grasping the other foot in my hands and bending my toes extremely backwards until beyond the toleration of twinge, I’ve reduced the effects of the sciatica enormously.  Today, in fact, while not totally pain free, at least I was able to run 7 miles, part of it in full stride, and put the pain aside and enjoy a certain fleetness of foot once again.  I keep telling myself: there are better days ahead.

My friend also used to remind me: “It’s great to be king, and then you weaken.”

If at all possible, I’ll run until I’m dead.