Gratitude

There are few things in life are more important than our health and yet it is easy to take a healthy body for granted. Ingratitude for health can manifest in both thought and action.

Health can falter at any moment. This is not to say that we should live in a state of anxiety. Rather we should give thanks for and maintain cognizance of good health.

When we do not take the necessary actions to maintain our health we are taking the absence of pain and discomfort for granted. I have been guilty of neglecting exercise, making poor food decisions, and not taking medication. My inaction is a sign that I have forgotten the preciousness of good health.

In my case it only takes a cold that lasts for a few days and then the onset of gout, which manifests as severe joint pain in the big toe, to sufficiently disrupt my life to the point where I have to reckon with my own ingratitude.

This past Saturday I drove to Boulder with the family to pick up my Boulderthon race bib. I felt like an imposter in line with all of those runners. Surely none of them had training interruptions. While I was in line I wondered would I even be able to run the marathon the following weekend. What about the California International Marathon (CIM) in December?

I am happy to report that my symptoms are resolved to the point where I was confident enough to test out a two mile jog after my trip to Boulder. Since my pain did not increase, I decided to run ten miles on Sunday. Ten miles turned into thirteen.

Boulderthon was supposed to be a fun adventure pacing my good friend to four hours. But now it is anything but assured. Regardless I will not forget to be grateful as I race on Sunday through the gorgeous rolling dirt road hills of North Boulder. I'll take in the stunning fall colors, farmhouses, and mountainscapes. I'll run into the Pearl Street finish line knowing that at any moment this can be taken from me. And then I'll put together six more weeks of solid marathon training for CIM. I will stay grateful and very normal.