03 Jan 2017_1

I’m lying to myself a little when I say to myself that I don’t want to run anymore. There are a few good years in me, and I want to feel that sense of freedom where you feel ten feet tall, and float along for a little while with no effort. And there is a way for me to feel this again. I’m too young to be old, even if I am middle aged.

This morning I was listening to another hard luck sorry with a positive ending. There are many of these on the radio around this time of year. In this story, there was a young woman who suffered pain from hyper-flexibility when she was young. This saved her life when she was knocked down by a car. Her broken back was bad, but not too bad.

There are two simple tests for hyper-flexibility:

1. Touching the floor with the palms of your hands and with your legs straight. I can do that! Let me check. Yes!
2. You can bend your thumb back to touch your wrist. Ouch!

I’m not hyper-flexible, but I am flexible. And after a few efforts touching the floor, my head feels better, my neck feels better, and I feel like thinking about running again. This is something I knew, or think I did. The reason why I stopped, is that there are no prizes for flexibility, or being well just for the sake of being well.

Flexibility is very useful when we have to absorb knocks as we go through life. It is also useful in changing direction quickly without hurting yourself too much. A little effort on the right things everyday can make a huge difference. This should work for my running anyway. In my work life, I will need to try and keep this attitude to do anything. At least I’ll look fit and well.

So this is another thing to add to my list. A little stretch every day. There is no problem finding time for this, and it fits with my plan of doing things that are possible and goal free.