This is what I have learned in 42 years. I've heard it said a gazillion times "you've got to listen to your body". I know you've heard it to. But the reason I have probably heard it more times than you have (about a gazillion, really), is because I was born hard of hearing when it comes to listening to my body. It is simply a genetic trait. It traveled on the "Y" chromosome. My father is completely deaf when it comes to listening to his body (and now in general too). So, I am lucky to simply be hard of hearing in this dept. The gene manifests itself badly in other behaviors as well. I have always held the strong belief that if something isn't working - just push it harder. Puzzles were never my thing for this very reason. Thank God I'm not a surgeon and I do not endeavor in delicate work. To this day if something is close to fitting but just not quite - oh I just push like the dickens. Unfortunately this behavior gets reinforced over time because in the end, with enough force the darn thing usually does fit (never mind that now it's broken!). And I walk away going "see, I told you it could be done!".
My father has always been a very fit guy. But not listening to his body has been sorely to his detriment. His true love is tennis. He loves tennis so much that he was late to his own daughter's wedding (not to mention countless other important functions) because it fell on tennis day. This guy never played on the pro-circuit and truth be told was never a stellar player. But he LOVES tennis. We all believed that he wished to die on the tennis court. Sadly though he played himself out. He tore both of his rotator cuffs beyond repair. A repetitive use injury which begs the question, didn't he feel it when it was just sore? Didn't he feel it when is started to tear? Why didn't he stop? When the first one was completely severed beyond repair why didn't he stop before the other one went? Completely deaf I tell you! But here is something mysterious - my dad has been living with stage 4 renal cell cancer for about 5 years. He was given 6 months to live several times in the past 5 years. In the past two years it spread to his brain - an absolute death sentence. They told him that renal cell carcinoma does not respond to radiation but they could give a try anyway, just because there is nothing else that can be done. That was 2 years ago . . . and he's still going! My theory, he's simply not listening! Dad, did you hear them say that you should be dead? Nope . . . not listening! He's not going anywhere, not so much because he refuses to die more like he's simply not done living. Don't get me wrong, he's not in good health. In fact it's pretty bad. Right now his body temperature is about 92 degrees and the doctors don't know why. He's basically in a constant state of hypothermia. It slows down his speech, makes him disoriented, etc. He's in rough shape. But he's got meetings he needs to attend and he walks (Lord only knows how) 3 miles a day. He does his modified sit ups and push ups. My mother tells me that he is too weak to get all his exercises or his walk done at once so he often goes out for 4 separate walks during the day to get it done. It is nothing short of truly amazing! I believe there are three things at play here. One is that he has maintained his body in optimal physical form (from an internal organ standpoint - clearly he blew the hell out of the whole muscular/skeletal system) and he is reaping the rewards of his constant, although compulsive work. The second is that he's got attitude, he calls it the attitude of gratitude - I call it insanity, but hey, whatever works for ya Pops! And lastly, yet again he just is not listening. Does it make any sense for this man to be up on a ladder cleaning out the gutters or behind the wheel of a car - no clearly it does not!! But he's not listening. I guess I can't blame him - it's worked for him.
As for me - I'm a lot like him but not entirely. By the time I hit 30 I actually learned how to listen to my body. It started to come in loud and clear, right when I hit 30 - with a gall bladder that expressed the desire to part company and go our separate ways. I heard it, but strongly disagreed with any organ in my body, other than my brain making decisions on their own. I proclaimed that we would not split up, but she had other plans. She talked my pancreas into taking sides with her and together they inflicted me with a rude awakening also known as Pancreatitis. Fine, good riddance to you, you crappy little gall bladder! And off she went. I hate to play favorites but the Pancreas is simply an organ you do NOT want to piss off. This is all part of the growing up process, the learning process. Okay, okay, I'm listening girls, anyone else wanting to be voted out of the house? I suspect there may be another mutiny afoot in there. And this time I am not afraid to take decisive action on the culprit before they all start choosing sides. I'm smarter now, and I'm just giving a little public warning here to my "parts" - look what happened to little ms. gall bladder - I can guarantee you she did not get to walk outa there and go shopping in Northampton. Just sayin'.
But in all seriousness, as we get older the messages keep coming, faster, louder. It is our job to decipher them quickly and respond to them accurately. There is a time to make prudent though unfavorable decisions and there are times to stay the course with knowledge and proper professional input. I now know I need a whole staff of people to help me - I'm just not that good at understanding. I need a coach, a few good doctors, a (better) running shoe expert. I'd probably do well to seek the advice of a good nutritionist as well. Assemble the team! I don't want to grow up to be just like my dad - but I want to stay alive until I am done living, just like him and I really would like to keep all the girls in the house, so to speak. Seek input from all around, listen up, make wise decisions. Your long life depends on it!
I for one love reading race reports and I will freely admit that I read race reports written by people I do not know about races I have never heard of. Why? Because I love stories of personal triumph. An individual facing personal challenges and rising to the occasion, sometimes physically but almost always emotionally and mentally.
