"We're SO Freakin' OLD!!!"

That's the "quote of the week" to me...

Just to recap, last Sunday I ran 11 miles out at White Rock Lake. To do that, you have to lap the lake (8.8 miles), and then keep on running and turn back around. It was a great personal accomplishment because I wasn't sure how close I was in my training to the half marathon. I was feeling pretty good. Actually, I was feeling very confident that I was easing into Nashville with a sense of "victory." Then reality set in...

Tuesday night I woke up around 2 A.M. with incredible back pain. That word "incredible" doesn't even due justice to what I was feeling. It was as if someone was jabbing a knife into my lower back. I've had back issues ever since I fell off a 2nd story building over 10 years ago (long story), so this wasn't a new pain. It was just odd because I hadn't run since Sunday, nor had I lifted anything heavy during that time.

I blamed my bed - I figured my 15 year old mattress was ready to be replaced. But whatever the case, the immediate problem was that I went through 2 days of extremely difficult pain. And because of that, I couldn't run.

During the height of the pain, I was talking with Jason on the phone. He was talking about his calf problems and I mentioned I've had pain in my knees. That's when he blurted out, "Dude... we're so freakin' old!" Ha! It put it all into perspective. I keep forgetting that I'm not running with a TwentySomething body this time. Years have been added, and the wear and tear just takes longer to heal.

Well, Friday morning I awoke and the pain was gone. I could move and actually bend over with ease. Knowing that I was still meeting Chandra and Jason at White Rock Lake on Saturday morning, I decided to forgo any running until then.

So yesterday morning I got up around 5 A.M. Hydrated, stretched, ate breakfast, and arrived at the lake just before 8 A.M. Our goal was to "somewhat" create the conditions we'd be running at next Saturday in Nashville (although there will be a 7 A.M. start time there).

The run started out very difficult for me. The first 2 miles, I could feel the pain in my lower back. But I trudged on. Chandra and I chatted a lot, and that helped. About mile 5, I could tell we were both getting tired... but we pressed on and kept talking. I think we were "talked out" around mile 7. However, at mile 8 we hit an unusual obstacle: March of Dimes walkers!

Who knew that 25 thousand participants (indicated in today's DMN) would be walking on the running path at the lake? Well, that's just not what you want to run around when you're beat tired and completely sore. So we ran in the grass and on gravel parking lots until we could make our way back to the trail away from the masses.

Unfortunately, their round-trip including coming back on the trail we were on. So we were now running against the flow! Uugh! Around mile 9.5, Chandra turned back because her goal was to finish 10. I trudged on... through the tide of people. Around mile 10.3, I was able to break through and press on without any hindrances since the trail had split.

So now I was running 100% by myself. No runners. No walkers. No bikers. My iPod was playing a Metallica song, "Turn the Page." The lyrics were perfect... and it gave me time to think about this goal of mine. Here I am... I'm running towards 12 miles. How amazing is that? I knew I could do it if I put my mind to it, but experiencing it actually is another thing. I'm so close to the half marathon, and even though I'm "so freakin' old," I truly believe the only way I'm able to accomplish this is through God's grace.

Well, I achieved 12 miles. Even though both knees were throbbing, I had a blister on my right foot, my back was sore, and the back of my shins were burning... I made it. But through it all, it's worth it. I wouldn't trade the pain for anything at this point! And hey, maybe I'm not THAT old... ha!