Second Wind

On Monday morning, November 7 at approximately 9:00 am I received the news that has since changed the course of how I will live the rest of my days on earth, I was having a heart attack. With a deep family history, on both sides, of coronary artery disease I knew the day would come, I just did not expect it to arrive at the age of 44. Fortunately, I am well aware of my family history and having spent the last 30 years in this wonderful, crazy life known as being a runner, I got to the emergency room quickly and my heart suffered no damage. As scary as the situation was, I still swelled up with pride as the various nurses and technicians asked, "Are you a runner?" I love it, even facing an uncertain future, possibly death, I smiled as others recognized my body and spirit has been chiseled from thousands upon thousands of miles out on the roads, trails and track.

On December 2 I had two stents placed in my two 80% blocked coronary arteries and have begun the long process of becoming a runner again. On Christmas morning I gave myself the best gift I could receive and jogged 2 miles. It was the sweetest two mile jog I have ever ran. As the crisp December morning filled my lungs, my legs ached from too much time laying around watching the boob tube and my mind raced, acutely aware of every beat of my heart wondering if this is too soon to try and run? As I circled the track, my anxiety melted away as that old familiar sense of pleasure of being in motion engulfed my body and I let my mind drift off into the past, remembering all of you have made this such an incredible journey so far and I simply ran.

There is an old term in distance running called second wind. This term is used to describe that feeling that a runner gets after suffering through a tough run where they feel that they can no longer keep going and are about to throw in the towel and all of a sudden catch a burst of energy and their strength is renewed. Personally, I always thought this was a bunch of hogwash. A properly trained runner knows he is going to hit some rough patches in training or a race and that you just have to suck it up and keep going. Sometimes you are going to get through it and feel fine and other times, well, you are just going to feel like crap, that's running and racing. The question is, how are you going to handle it? Are you going to suck it up? There is no second wind, just mental toughness and the willingness to keep running.

My heart attack is just a rough patch that I am facing, so the question is, am I going to throw in the towel and step off the track or suck it up? Well, I have thrown in the towel before and there is no feeling worse than stepping off the track and watching the other runners keep going by...so I only see one option, suck it up. I'm a runner. This means that I have to do things that sometimes are not very fun or that I don't want to, but in order for me to improve as an athlete, are vital to my success. For me, running is not enough to maintain a healthy heart. I have to give up some of my favorite foods: bacon, butter, ice cream, large greasy burgers and gallons of coffee at a time. Not only do I have to restrict my diet, but I also have to take a plethora of medications that are going to affect my ability to run fast. I now have to run with a heart rate monitor to gauge my level of exertion and carry a cell phone. This of course is God's sense of humor at work, since I used to make fun of people running with all their gadgets and now I have no choice but to run with them. But, I am going to suck it up and run. In a few minutes I am going to lace up my new Brooks running shoes, strap on my heart rate monitor, slip on my nifty little cell phone arm band, take a long deep breath of January fog laced air, smile, a deep satisfying smile, thank God that I am still here and get to do what few people get to do, enjoy that one passion that I have pursued for the past 30 years...I am going to run!

As always, stay healthy, keep running and most of all, enjoy each and every step of today's run.