No Finish Line Running

Sunday, July 13, 2014 · Mike Davis

Good morning! We are enjoying a beautiful weekend here on the seacoast of New Hampshire. Yesterday mornings run was still a challenge due to the humidity, but the temperature was quite nice. Kathy and I met up with a couple ladies at Dover high school that Kathy typically runs with once a week. After some discussion we decided on a fairly hilly route that would get us the 6 miles that we all wanted to run. Kathy and I had run this particular route in the past and despite some challenging hills it is a great route because of the back roads and farms that are quite enjoyable. The first mile or so was fairly flat so my hopes was that my calf would get loose and by the time I hit the rolling hills my calf would be stretched and ready. I pulled away from the ladies early on as I was running somewhat faster right from the beginning and I felt like if I slowed my pace some, they might try to run faster than they should. My plan was working well as I hit the hills I felt great and my calf had not issues whatsoever. As I said the route is a beautiful back road with very little traffic so I was really enjoying the peaceful tranquility as I moved along. Around mile 3 I turned on to Back River road and things got a lot flatter at that point but previous hills and humidity had taken a toll on me so I was laboring somewhat. While my calf felt great, my right hip was not feeling so great. If you have shared coffee and chat with me in the past you probably know of the arthritis I have in my right hip and the challenges I have because of it. Since I have been dealing with back issues on that same side of the body, I feel like I have been weaker along the whole right side. Anyhow, I continued running along but I was struggling a bit both because of my breathing and the slight burning in my hip. As I hit mile 5 and was feeling better with things I felt a slight twinge in my calf and though I knew I could probably finish my run, I decided to walk immediately. The fact that my calf had endured some rolling hills at a fairly decent pace was a victory and I did not want to turn that victory into defeat by trying to push my luck. Instead I walked the final distance back to the high school and use that time to think about my physical issues. Being a running coach is definitely a passion I enjoy, but running is by far my greatest passion and figuring out how to maintain my running while dealing with the issues I mentioned has become one of my greatest challenges. As I said, I spent much of my time walking yesterday thinking about the challenges I face and how I can continue to enjoy my running while one not furthering the arthritis and two losing then enjoyment because of the pain. There is no guarantee that the arthritis will not progress but after consultation with a doctor it was determined that the arthritis I have in my hip is slow moving and could possibly stay at the level it is currently at if I improve the strength and flexibility around it. With that diagnosis also came the advice that I needed to find the right distance for me. I have not done the things routinely enough to strengthen and improve my flexibility and that's something that certainly needs to be addressed. The second part of the challenge that I face is determining the right distance and more importantly; accepting that distance. One of the things I love about running is it has afforded me the opportunity to take on various challenges such as half and full marathons, Reach the Beach relay and racing up mount Washington. All of these events challenged me like no other sport I have ever competed in, but all of them require a higher level of strength and conditioning that comes from rigorous training. For me the rigorous training is actually the best part of committing to a particular race or event. However "rigorous" cannot be taken lightly and there comes a point when we have to be real with ourselves and not train based on hope. I know the physical issues I am saddled with but giving into them is not always easy as that may mean that I have to adjust my goals and in some cases my dreams. Most likely all that read my running chat are runners and can relate to the concept of having dreams of completing certain events. I am surely grateful that I have realized some of my dreams when it comes to running and yet I still have many more. Not trying to sound overly dramatic, it can be quite difficult to come to grips that not all of my running goals/dreams may not be realized. Yes I can keep fighting in hopes that the arthritis in my hip won't get worse or be to painful to bear during the training, but as I said; that's a hope that is not realistic. Nothing has given me any logical hope that my hip can hold up to the rigors of training for distances outside of 10Ks. Ugh, does that mean I am done with half marathons, marathons or other events that I enjoy? Maybe, maybe not. Right now I have to work on the strength and flexibility part and then determine what my ideal distance is. Without improving the areas around my arthritis I can't make a determination as to what my body can handle on a regular basis. What I have determined is that I want to be active for many more years and in order to do that I must take care of my body and then listen to it. I have a dream of running a marathon with my daughter and while that would be special, my body may not cooperate and instead it may tell me that I should enjoy 4 miles runs with my daughter instead. No doubt reigning in my distance would be tough and require an adjustment to my ego, but being able to enjoy running can't be about distance. So many of the people I run with are doing great things and it is not always easy to eliminate those same races. As a running coach I am also determined to help each of my runners find "their distance" and that is not always easy because often people come to NFLR to accomplish certain goals. However when it becomes apparent that the individual is better suited for a lesser distance be it because of physical or other reasons, we are bound by our beliefs to work with the runner to help them be runners for life, not force a distance that will prevent running healthy in the long term. "No finish line running", We may lose clients because of our belief that running is not about a certain finish line, but we cannot compromise our beliefs. Not an easy matter to deal with, but we will only be as successful as our representation of "no finish line running" is. Hope you have a great Sunday and don't forget to use the sunscreen! Mike