Week 10 - I discover the fountain of youth

It's Wednesday of week 10, and I am feeling good, better than I ever imagined. This morning we designed our own workouts. I started with shoulders, what I learned the week 1 was the weakest part of my body. Surprisingly to me, I was able to shoulder press more than double the weight I struggled with the first week. I also did one-legged bench dips with relative ease. The first week two-legged bench dips caused significant shoulder pain. So it seems I am getting stronger.

On Monday I attempted the City Creek Canyon run I first did 27 years ago. Those were the days when I ran frequently at lunch with Charley Allen and David Hardy. We would start at the parking lot next to the Capitol and run to Area 7. Total distance about 4 1/2 miles, though we counted it as 5.

I haven't run over 3 miles in at least 6 years, maybe 7. My goal Monday was to do the traditional run from the Capitol to Area 7. I set my watch altimeter to measure the climb and took off. Turned out that though I am not used to running for more than short distances I was able to reach Area 7, though I was breathless a good part of the run. I noticed my legs are definitely a lot stronger than maybe ever so the climbing was actually pretty easy. I walked from Area 7 to the half mile marker and ran the 2 1/2 miles back to the Capitol, mostly on the trail. There are several uphill stretches on the trail, even on the way down. The dirt felt a lot easier on the legs, and was a lot more fun, than the asphalt road going up. I made it down in at about 10.5 minute/mile pace, slower than in the old days but OK.

For the rest of the day following the run my right knee was sore and felt misaligned, but by morning the pain had gone away. I know one Ragnar leg will be fine. The question is how the knee will respond to 2 more. I talked to my physical therapist friend Nylin Johnson this morning. I asked whether he thought the knee would hold up. He said there are no guarantees, but went on to say that there are a lot of things we may choose not to do if concerned about possible injury. He asked, rhetorically, "Isn't Ragnar what you've been pointing to?" Without using so many words, he essentially told me that the best parts of life involve testing our limits, breaking through barriers, mental or otherwise. He suggested using the knee brace to help the joint stay properly aligned, and added that it would be worth it to rent a bike and a rack to ride between runs. Cycling always helps my knee feel better.

When I got home, Tauni asked if I would be willing to run Las Vegas in two weeks. I said sure. Now I am hoping I will have two Ragnars under my belt by the time the 90 days are done.

Before I started the 90-Day program, I felt as though age had slowed me enough that I was on the steady road to physical decline. I watched my dad struggle to get around and thought that was my fate, and soon. I recognize now that my barriers were mental, not physical. My body remains capable of much more than I imagined. I feel like standing on a street corner, preaching the gospel of nutrition and fitness. As I hear commercials advertising new diet pills and read of advances in bariatric surgery, I suppose I feel a bit sad those cures offer at best temporary improvement, and that health, fitness and happiness is available to most everyone through proper nutrition and exercise. If that message were widely taught and believe, America would be a healthier and wiser place, maybe even wealthier.