Idealist or Buffoon?

Stubborn Idealist or Idiotic Buffoon?.. you be the judge.

About a year ago I started training for long distance running and began feeling pain in my right knee. It didn't really hurt while running. Only afterwards and especially when standing up / sitting down. So I laid off the running (turned to elliptical and walking) and eventually saw a doctor last December (mri found normal arthritic wear and tear but nothing more).

Then about a month ago I got the old wild hair to participate in my hometown half-marathon - the OKC Memorial. I thought I'd mainly walk the thing and perhaps sprinkle in a little pitiful one-legged sledge trotting. To just, you know, speed things up a bit.

Sandwiched between a splendid windless blue sky Saturday and an equally tranquil Monday (today) was an absolutely abominable Sunday... spitting rain riding the northern gusts with wind chills in the upper 30s at the 6:30 am race time.

Oh well... and so of course I decided to go ahead and run those first couple of miles and then play it by ear from there. Ended up going on a 4-5 minute walk / 5-6 minute one-legged sledge trot routine and made out okay. Probably ended up runing about 8 miles and walked the rest. Didn't really feel anything until mile 10 or so. Ended up running (if that's what you want to call it) the last mile and really enjoyed the experience. My first. Don't tell my wife but it probably won't be my last.

As for today, my body is SCREAMING in a kind of bewildered protest. Just about everything aches... except my knees. Ha! I suspect that pain will return when all the rest recedes.