A year ago I was sidelined by a pinched nerve, which resulted in surgery and a long recuperation. Today I celebrated my recovery by running my first half-marathon.
Now, I wish I could report that I ran at a record pace, but the truth is that I ran veerrry slowly. At about the fifth mile I started having trouble with my iliotibial band, and no amount of stretching seemed to help. So rather than run a speedy race, I slowed to a 10-minute-mile pace and spent much of the run watching people twice as old – and twice as wide – pass me by. Still, given that a year ago I was down for the count after neck surgery, I feel pretty good that I finished at all.
I feel even better about the fact that my kids were there to see me finish. Last year, I hated them seeing me wearing a neck brace, unable to turn my head or even pick them up. This year, as I crossed the finish line I spotted my kids holding hand-made “Go Dady” signs, and I can’t describe how great that made me feel. The only thing better than that was lifting myself into the stands to give my wife a well-deserved (and very salty) kiss.
PS: A special thanks to my best friends Kevin and Shima, who made sure my favorite beer was waiting for me outside the event. Nice one, folks :)