I'm now 60 years old. I was a college athlete a LONG time ago. Met my wife right away in college and we've been together ever since. She was a MUCH better college athlete than I was too.
She has polymyositis, diagnosed just after we got married. Basically, it's a muscle enzyme disorder, one where her muscle enzymes attack her muscles instead of repairing them, creating a continual, losing, battle.
I was born in January. Just before I turned 50, just after Christmas, I realized I needed to take better care of myself [I'm 6'4.5" and had reached ~260 lbs] in order to be able to care for her. Walking, then running, became my means to an end.
Running has allowed me to be more healthy, both physically and mentally [now ~190 lbs] while also getting the "competitive" high I think I still needed. My running was primarily long distance [ran 11 half-marathons during that time] and now, as I've aged, I'm presently transitioning into sprint triathlons, with the eventual goal of competing with "olympic" distance triathlons.
Running solved a dilemma and also gave me a driven purpose and goal to meet. It brought me to this page and, while not as active here now as I have been, the support of the people on this page when "we" get to those plateaus we all hit, both with running and life, even simply when reading from "a far", has been a blessing.
I now hope to simply be able to continue to care for her while also continuing to get my "fix" from the competition, as I will continue to compete until my body says no more...
Stan, I’m really moved by this. You’ve shared bits and pieces of it here before, I know, but I’m not sure I’d seen it all together like this. Would you be interested in doing the Q&A-style interview like the others we’ve done? I think readers would love to hear more, if you feel up to it. Just let me know 😀
I can’t run anymore. But rarely a day goes by without my walk. Even during 5 months of chemo! And I am 73.
Barbara, that’s seriously impressive — especially during chemo! How long ago was that?
2018. Yikes. Running/walking cures all kinds of crazy things!!
My story...
I'm now 60 years old. I was a college athlete a LONG time ago. Met my wife right away in college and we've been together ever since. She was a MUCH better college athlete than I was too.
She has polymyositis, diagnosed just after we got married. Basically, it's a muscle enzyme disorder, one where her muscle enzymes attack her muscles instead of repairing them, creating a continual, losing, battle.
I was born in January. Just before I turned 50, just after Christmas, I realized I needed to take better care of myself [I'm 6'4.5" and had reached ~260 lbs] in order to be able to care for her. Walking, then running, became my means to an end.
Running has allowed me to be more healthy, both physically and mentally [now ~190 lbs] while also getting the "competitive" high I think I still needed. My running was primarily long distance [ran 11 half-marathons during that time] and now, as I've aged, I'm presently transitioning into sprint triathlons, with the eventual goal of competing with "olympic" distance triathlons.
Running solved a dilemma and also gave me a driven purpose and goal to meet. It brought me to this page and, while not as active here now as I have been, the support of the people on this page when "we" get to those plateaus we all hit, both with running and life, even simply when reading from "a far", has been a blessing.
I now hope to simply be able to continue to care for her while also continuing to get my "fix" from the competition, as I will continue to compete until my body says no more...
Stan, I’m really moved by this. You’ve shared bits and pieces of it here before, I know, but I’m not sure I’d seen it all together like this. Would you be interested in doing the Q&A-style interview like the others we’ve done? I think readers would love to hear more, if you feel up to it. Just let me know 😀