The mind immediately moves into defensive posture.
It's not like I don't listen to my Doctors, because I surely do, however, I imagine I push the limits a wee bit.
This past Tuesday may have been just such a day.
Having been instructed to slowly introduce fresh fruits and raw vegetables into my diet I probably should not have eaten a half container of the all veggy salsa followed by several ounces of fresh broccoli (with veggy dip), followed by some (cooked) cauliflower rounded off later with a couple of beers after a real hard seven mile trail run. I even mentioned to my running pals as I opened a second beer. "This might be a mistake".
Mistake or not I felt pretty darn good until about eight o'clock when the first battalion of intestinal distress hit me sending me on a world class sprint to the bathroom. Waves of distress continued throughout the evening until at one o'clock in the morning when I awoke with a keen awareness that speed was of the essence. Jumping out of bed with "asleep feet" I stumbled and hit the bathroom door jam "Face On" hard enough to knock my senses off and remove a hunk of skin from my right cheek bone. The intestinal battalion finally won, I didn't quite make it to my awaiting throne in time.
Perhaps the only "funny" part of all of this has been the reaction several people have had when seeing my mangled face. "Wife beating you again Mike ? "
Back to where I started, "I'm not going to tell you not to run but your nerves are damaged and will take time to heal. You don't want to be pounding them any harder then you have too".
My reply was, "Thank God I'm a Trail Runner. Trail running is much easier on the feet then Road Running". I then explained that I did not have any ultras in the very near future, only a half trail Marathon at the end of March. Of course that one is straight up Terrapin Mountain and down again. Defensive and justifying, do you think ?
As I move forward my blood will be tested every three months for the next year. I will have a Colonoscopy, Cat-scan and follow up visits with all of the Docs who have treated me. The port which was placed in my chest will come out as soon as I can possibly arrange it. Dr Goldstein would prefer I leave it in but as I told him, "I cannot look at myself in the mirror with the Port still there and feel that I am cured". With those words the good Doctor pulled out his pad and wrote the order to have the port removed.
The road ahead will have it's bumps, the neuropathy could take four to six more to fully disappear and lord knows how long my digestive track will take to become somewhat normal again. It will take months if not years to regain the strength and endurance I've lost over the past twelve months but if I stick with it, if I push to my limits without being "stupid" (That's the real challenge) I'll return and perhaps improve as now I have a greater appreciation of what running has done for me.
Time to go, things to do including putting a new door knob on our bathroom to speed up entry time (The Old one Sticks). The fresh Strawberry's might need to be put away but if there are only a couple left I may just finish them off, a couple more won't hurt, besides, they taste soooo Good.Be Happy All..... Mike
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