I turned 40 and it started to happen. Those "damn am I getting old" aches and pains and the "well I am 40 now" sports injuries that began my slide into better-start-taking-it-easy mode. I milked that pass for all it was worth.
So as I approached a half-marathon that I had committed to several months before, I decided I would go slow. Turtle slow. And I began to map out places along the course I could phone home for a rescue pick-up.
But then it hit me, What the hell am I thinking?
When did I stop believing in and trusting my body and mind in ways that extend far beyond this race? Or better yet, why?
The road to insecurity starts with damn good marketing
I'm not alone. Middle age has become hijacked by industries capitalizing on and creating our deepest fears -- selling us fast fixes of pills, procedures, Botox and gear. Hour by hour the TV reminds us of our fragility...telling us how we feel and what we need.
And we believe them -- buying both the product and mindset.
That's where feet and Christopher McDougall enter the scene
It all started with the simple question "Why does my foot hurt?"
Christopher McDougall's doctors discouraged him from running. "People like you aren't meant to run," they told him. "Running is too hard on the body," they added. And like most of us, Christopher assumed the doctors were right and was ready to throw in the towel.
Almost ready...
Instead, that question resulted in an epic, harrowing and funny adventure, Born to Run. It's the best-seller that developed a rapidly growing cult following and has the shoe manufacturers shaking in their sneakers -- catapulting the barefoot running movement and mid-lifers up and off the couch (including me). But most lovely, it got us thinking, questioning and pushing back against the machine.
Note: I finished that half-marathon with a big cheesy smile, running faster than I had in the last decade. And for the record, I'm now 41.