Back in the summer of 2008 I was smitten with aching hips, a harbinger of old age, I thought. I tried analgesic rubs, various NSAIDS and lessening my exercise walks; nevertheless the pain worsened and I became dependent on a cane.
Several times I found it necessary to abort my exercise walks since I could not stand the pain. My infrequent walks showed up in my blood pressure readings and I shared this during one of my regular visits with my primary-care physician. He prescribed blood-pressure medicine and he urged me to exercise as much as I could. He also ordered x-rays which showed no abnormalities.
My doctor gave me information on a local orthopedic surgeon but I did not follow through, mindful of the expected progression from the cheap pill to the expensive pill to surgery. I couldn't afford the down-time and loss of income that would result from surgery. I've also heard about unfavorable results and after-effects related to surgery.
I felt myself at the fork in the road, one option consisting of accepting defeat and that apparent old age was having its way. I was sixty-one at the time. The other option was to fight this without the expenses associated with the medical establishment that do not guarantee favorable results.
My forays consisted of a walk around the block, aided with a cane and I fought through these. The pain was still with me into the winter and I was aware that a fall caused by ice or snow could be disastrous, yet I persisted, walking through severe wind-driven temperatures that only made me angry and more determined. I still shoveled snow at home and at work and I judiciously applied my snowblower to the task. Fortunately the dogs were seniors, preferring short walks. I couldn't use a cane on dog walks- just too awkward. I put the canes away (at times I had used two.)
Joint pain does intensify in winter's cold and I wondered if the hospital had x-rayed the correct joints. Getting out of bed in the winter is okay. When I stood up and my hips took the load that was a different matter and my first words of the day were not "thanks, Lord for another day." Not considering the fact of pain I should have been thankful for my ability to stand and walk.
Severe winter conditions throttled my exercise walks and actually stopped them for a time. We have a treadmill but I just couldn't get into that and the treadmill has become a clothes rack in our bedroom.
Somehow I found the toughness to be the legs of the family as my wife, Lois had a knee replaced. She used a walker for a while then a cane and she fought through the rehabilitation curve. She had been using a shopping cart for a walker during her work at K-Mart.
In the summer of 2009 I cut down on the intake of sugar and fat as much as possible without causing upheaval of Lois' meal planning. My weight dropped and my doctor was mildly alarmed as I was still in the lower range of the Body Mass Index. He said he would not urge me to gain weight as the hip pain had disappeared, possibly due to my weight loss.
I remember the trepidation I felt on my first attempt to resume my 2.5 mile walks late that summer. I stuffed my cell phone into the pocket of my shorts and made my way up the long, hard incline of the Burma Road, the way I had walked many a time before the hip pain. The other pocket held my IPOD and I tried to concentrate on the rocking of Van Halen, The Scorpions (Rock You Like a Hurricane) and other of my favorite artists. I love Bach but I needed something with high-energy to get me into an athletic mood.
I rocked right up the Burma road and continued, trying to keep in step with the music and at the top of Burma, at the Norrie softball field I abandoned my reserve and just yelled out because it was fairly easy and best of all, there was no pain and I wasn't using a cane.
The walks continued during ensuing years and I regained strength in my legs, taking longer walks until I did a five-mile outing, a personal victory and the pain remained absent.
I did not ever think of becoming a runner, especially at the age of 64 but our family was blessed by the adoption of an orphan beagle at the Hope Animal Shelter. Skittles was young and bursting with a powerful energy. She was also less than a year old and that energy frequently got her into trouble. She destroyed some of our favorite things. I had a pair of logger's boots I had acquired more than thirty years ago. I had worn these when I worked in the woods and later for any tough job that required sturdy foot-ware. Those boots had become old friends to me and you can imagine my reaction when Skittles chewed the top off one of the boots- didn't destroy the other one, but I had to buy a new pair of work boots. The new ones weren't nearly the same.
Skittles' excess energy had to have a channel so I started running with her, on a leash. We covered a lot of ground and the running seemed to decrease, but not eliminate her in-house mischief. Skittles really grew up when we got another puppy, a Scottish terrier/Corgy that Lois names Snickers. Snickers was much more naughty than Skittles in destruction of our property.
When Skittles matured she seemed no longer interested in running with me. She had become more interested in tracking whatever critter or person had come along her path. I tried in vain to get her to run but she was doing what beagles do.
I liked running so I continued, solo, and at first I thought I was crazy, running through the streets at age 64. My legs hurt the day after running and I wondered if I was destroying them. I ran up the Burma road, barely jogging the last 20 yards and puffing, sucking air. I leaned against a stop sign and stretched my legs, which felt the burn of effort. I pressed on at a walk for about five minutes then ran some more, then walked. I did this alternation on the 2.5 mile circuit that I used to walk.
That was last year. In 2013 I have run as much as 11.2 kilometers (7 miles) although my usual run is 6.4k (4 miles). Runs are done all in running mode, no walking breaks. I have added speed bursts for hundred yard intervals, up to 5 speed bursts in a 6.4k run.
I'm addicted to running now. My blood pressure is well below the borderline. The seasonal affected disorder which has plagued me in autumn has lessened as has my depression, practical reasons for running. But mostly I run for the fun of it.
Thank you, Skittles!
