Renewable Resource

It’s December 1, 2015 and I am sitting on an ancient stationary bike in a physical therapist’s office. I am pedaling for eight minutes. I am frustrated because I am injured and I haven’t run since Labor Day. 

Later I would Sign up for a gym membership with a sauna because I so missed the feeling of sweat and exhaustion that follows a long run. The sauna was actually a pretty okay substitute.

That day on the stationary bike I didn’t know that there would be months of PT ahead. I didn’t know that I’d leave the PT office after my last appointment and then still be disappointed when my body wouldn’t tolerate increased mileage. 

When I began running again the PT asked what my fitness goals were. Secretly, I confided, I want to do an Ironman. It was a wild proposition at the time, considering that I could only bike for 8 minutes and an Ironman would require 8 hours of riding.

Now, I’ve done a half Ironman and the proposition of a full still seems fairly ludicrous, but that’s beside the point.

The point is that we start with something that is basically irrelevant. Eight minutes on a stationary bike — this teeny tiny little bit of the stuff we need. And then we believe it just may be possible to build something from nearly nothing.

There was a piece of paper taped to that bike that read, every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

Eventually I found a triathlon coach and a trigger point therapist and another PT and a rehab modality that brought healing. I began to run long again.

I heard one of my heroes say that running is a renewable resource. You get injured, life happens, you lose fitness. But, it’s possible to rebuild. That’s the nature of our sport. And as for the decision to try? That’s our choice.