Miracle of science

I had my best run of the year today--just a short loop around the reservoir in Central Park. I'm kind of excited about it because it has not been a great year for me, physically.

I've had a sports hernia for over a year now--pain in my lower abdomen when I run or do sit-ups--although no visible hernia. I kept thinking, "Oh, just suck it up and run through it; it'll go away eventually."

But it didn't go away. I got steadily slower and slower until finally I had to stop running completely a few months ago. I gained six pounds. I felt old.

Finally, when the pain subsided, I tried a slow trot for a few hundred yards. Then a teensy little jog with lots of stopping. Always resting for at least a day between jogs, and always being extra sensitive to any pain.

Today I ran at under seven-minute-mile pace for the first time in a long time. It feels good not to run like an old woman, you know? And the pain is minimal. My body is a self-healing miracle of science. 

Now I do have a hole in my back where my dermatologist sliced off a suspicious mole last week. So the part of my body that spent too much time in the sun as a young man is apparently not self-healing.

And I'm still six pounds overweight. But...one miracle at a time.