Reflections and beyond by Ranger Ed©

2018 was my last full race running year as if I needed to remind myself of what has come. It started with the Blarney 5k on March 10th and I went on to run the Steamboat 4 miler, the Sgt. Douglas Riney memorial 5k, the Park District's Turkey Trot 4 miler and I had my last race in late November of that year at the Festival of Lights/Folepi 4 miler in East Peoria. I never pegged over an 11:30 per mile pace as injuries set in and I was on steroid shots for my knees and many anti-inflammatories. I never imagined I'd be tapping out again after overcoming a left knee injury with a successful surgery in 2015, but 5 months later in 2019 while launching a comeback to my 9-10 minute pace, I fried the rest of my medial meniscus on my right knee as I was doing speed work on the Alta leg of the Rock Island Trail. The reality is arthritis is setting in on my lower back and knees that have been plagued with injuries over the years and some days it's nearly impossible to even get to work in the morning without my fingers crossed that my meds kick in on time. I try to conceal it all and I consume a high dose of supplements and medications to plow through it. I still manage to bike and run over 30 miles every week on average but I have not raced since 2018. 2020 ended those chances as I worked through another knee surgery and then blood clot complications and a bout of diverticulitis. I have learned to expect aging and my career to add on to the injury challenges that I face. Then the pandemic came. The dreaded election year pandemic that shut almost everything down overnight. Ugh. That pretty much shut down all racing options and I used it as a time to continue to train hard and recover. Can you really even say your racing when you don't come close to your race goals? I think the whole idea is to trick the mind into believing that race day is the one. When I was running half marathons I certainly didn't have a choice on that mindset! It had to be in place or else. For now I'm trying to limit any 2021 races to 4 miles and my training involves much more biking to save the stress on my knees and back. I'm really looking forward to getting back to a full running and hiking schedule this year, but either way I'll keep loading up the miles and traveling down the road to nowhere. I think it's human nature to carry on no matter what. Who doesn't put the negative things in life to the side to try and get caught up or reach that one last silent goal or two? Next week as per January fashion I have a "hell week" scheduled for over 50 miles along with strength training as usual. Like any addiction, exercising can become a series of high and low rewards and consequences that one just has to wade through. My addictive personality just doesn't allow me to stop. I'm hardwired to self destruct as it seems. So if your feeling that way, just know you are certainly not alone and just keep pushing on. Keep up the good fight and realize the few bad battles you lost cannot compete with the good ones that will win the war.