GoodReads

C's bookshelf: read

The Peculiar
Maggot Moon
Chime
Leviathan
The City and the City
Graceling
The Road
A Certain Slant of Light
The Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer's Craft
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Brown Girl in the Ring
Well Wished
The Innkeeper's Song
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Beloved
American Indian Myths and Legends
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Return of the King
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers


C S Peterson's favorite books »

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A Slice of Mild Insanity

There is something so cozy about being snuggled up in warm blankets and listening to the wind roar and howl around the house corners outside.  I sit in bed; my knees have a pillow underneath and Ziploc bags full of ice on top. As long as I ice the complaining bits right away after a run the muscles maintain only a low level grumpiness.  If I forget, it turns into flaming rebellion and outright refusal. I’m trying to run a marathon before I turn 50.  This is, I fully admit, a mild insanity brought on by a midlife crisis.  With my parents passing last year I was deluged by helpful reading material, dropped off by well meaning friends and hospice volunteers, about the grieving process.  Grief is, to say the least, not pleasant.  Death sucks.  But I was, despite literate preparation, blindsided by the same emotions I had experienced when I left home as a young adult.  As these were slamming away in my brain I started watching, on the Internet, a man my age, who had never run seriously, run 43 marathons in a row around the UK.  I thought, “If he can do that, I can at least run a mile!”  I was staying at my parent’s house, at 9000 feet.  I went outside, ran ten steps and had to spend twenty minutes catching my breath.  Now I’m up to ten miles, as long as I ice my knees.  So here I sit in bed, wind outside, cozily ignoring mortality and denying age.

5 comments:

  1. I laughed out loud at your last line, "So here I sit in bed, wind outside, cozily ignoring mortality and denying age." I think at some point we all deny mortality and age. Good luck on the marathon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Katie, your post was a great first one to read this am. I like the way you make your words flow on, & the content connecting so well. I'm not sure about the 'mild insanity', but like the picture you created, especially when it includes ice on the knees.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good for you, ice and all. You seem like a take charge person, great quality.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The end of your piece had me laughing...until I thought, "hey--maybe I ought to do something. Something to help me deny age..."
    You've inspired me--though it may be just enough inspiration to send me to my cozy bed instead of out to run!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think it is so interesting that this man on TV inspired you by running 43 marathons. Now, you inspire others by running ten miles. It really isn't about the "size" of the feat, but the willingness to step out there, David against Goliath can come in many forms!

    ReplyDelete