On Running: Gratitude
In 2005, I was involved in a very serious car accident in which both of my legs were badly broken. I had to have metal rods and screws put into both legs so that they could heal properly. This was a very dark period in my life that involved me having to drop out of school, confined to a wheelchair, being depressed, and becoming addicted to pain killers. By the time I healed, I had to go in for another surgery and have the rods removed, but just led to more pain and recovery time. By early 2008, I was in so much pain and I had developed such a bad muscular imbalance, that I could no longer walk properly, so I went into physical therapy just before my insurance ran out. This helped a little bit, but I still felt intense knee pain and limited mobility on a daily basis and was told not to run anymore because my body could not take it.
I ran recreationally in college, and was saddened, not just by my physical pain, but by my physical limitations. It had always been my goal to compete in a race longer than a 5K, specifically a 10K. I got fat, and moped around for a couple years in pain. Earlier this year, I decided to go for a run, just to try it and see how badly it would hurt my knees. Surprisingly, I wasn't too bad. Shortly, thereafter, I signed up for my comeback 5K. I was slow, but ran the whole thing with only moderate pain. A couple months later, I nervously signed up for my first 10K. I was able to finish the whole race without walking, but was in bad shape afterward. It was so bad, that I had to wear a kneebrace the next day just to get around. Even though I had achieved my goal, I wanted more. So I kept running, and I kept getting better. Pretty soon I was running 5Ks faster than I ever had, and was doing various other distances that I never thought I could do. By the time I ran my first half-marathon, I ran it at a faster pace than many 5Ks I had previously done, and I was barely sore at all the next day. Not only that, but my knees felt better than they had in years.
This was all very strange to me, since my surgeon discouraged running and I had always heard that if you ran too much, it will destroy your knees. Come to find out, the idea that running will destroy your knees as you get older is complete bullshit. I found this out first hand, then later read a study that said that not only will running not hurt your knees, but that it is actually beneficial to joint health. The human body is an incredible adaptive machine.
These days, I feel great physically. I never thought my knees would feel this good ever again, or that I would be able to perform at a higher level now that I could prior to the accident. My daily pain level right now is fairly minimal, and I owe it all to running. Not only has it given me a great sense of accomplishment, but it has actually managed to heal me, and improve my physical being. I am forever indebted to running, and as a result will continue to do it and be as involved in it as much as I can for as long as I can.