Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Perspective

Within the past 24 hours I walked 4.2 miles, cycled 27, and ran 4. I would be happy about that, but now I'm wondering if I over did it, because the last mile of my run consisted of a lot of walking thanks to a recurrence of knee pain. It seemed to hit me out of nowhere. Maybe I did too much in too short a time. Or maybe it was the cycling.

I'd be lying if I said that this experience this morning wasn't discouraging. And it seems downright unfair sometimes. Why do I struggle with this stupid knee issue? Why can't it happen to someone who is perfectly happy sitting on the couch?

Then I thought about someone we saw yesterday while we were out riding. It was a guy with one leg. Out on the trail. Riding a bike. Just imagine how difficult it would be to cycle one legged the whole way. A lot of people would give up or not even try, but there he was. And he has a big grin on his face.

Then I thought about my own situation. Here I was, out run/walking on a beautiful morning. Sure, my knee is bothering me, but I'm out here. So I smiled.

Right about then I passed the house of a neighbor with Parkinson's disease. He was taking his garbage can out to the curb while walking with a cane. I was running by (slowly) with a smile on my face.

Guess what he said to me?

He said, "What a nice way to start your day."

And he was right.

21 comments:

  1. Sometimes we need these reminders. Glad you are feeling good about life!

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  2. Life is talking. Glad you are listening :-)

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  3. Very true...love it. I am prone to getting down on myself but am determined to see what I CAN do.

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  4. Great post, Lisa. A good reminder to celebrate what we CAN do.

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  5. A couple of slaps in the face for you, eh? ;)

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  6. We all need reminders like that from time to time.

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  7. I like the Du numbers you put in those 24 hours

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  8. Don't you just love those reminders?????

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  9. oh lisa what a great post, seriously lately it's been very important to me to remember that i GET to run, not have to or anything else...but I get to

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  10. This was awesome to read. Sometimes it's so hard to see out of our little bubbles, but it really helps to put our injuries or minor hiccups in perspective.

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  11. Awww sorry about the knee pain. But you put it into perspective beautifully. Hang in there!

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  12. Awww that TOTALLY puts it in perspective. I love it! Running really IS a great way to start the day!

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  13. We all need to remember this.

    Hope the knee pain is short-lived.

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  14. there's a bloke I see on the rail trail - he rides a recumbent bike b/c he's a double amputee! So inspiring

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  15. Lovely post! You are right, we have a lot to be happy about.

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  16. I had the same thoughts when I couldn't race anymore, or ride as fast as I was used to ride. And I went through the same process of acceptance. Hey, we can still do the things we love doing. So many others can't. We are lucky!

    Still, I hope your knee is ok.

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  17. Touching. These wakeup calls are good reminders to be thankful for the things we can do!

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  18. And if that doesn't inspire you, I don't know what else would! Great post girl and I hope the knee shapes up!

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  19. when life gets tough, we all need to be reminded how much more tough it can be! great post and an awesome reminder to be thankful for the ability to be able to run...fast or slow!

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  20. Great post!
    Sometimes we all just need to be reminded how lucky we are.

    I do hope your knee feels better, though!

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  21. Thanks for this post. It is what I needed.

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