Idiot

Yes, I am an idiot beside the obvious I did an idiotic thing yesterday. Last week at our Saturday Gamblers Anonymous meeting one of our members ask me if I was still running. I told them that I had just run earlier that morning. The member was talking about running in a particular race. I have spoken about how I like running and this member wanted to know if I had any races scheduled in the future. I told them I had mailed an entry to the New York City Marathon last December and was selected to run in the marathon this coming November. The New York City Marathon is the pinnacle of marathons and every person I have spoken with who has run in this race has said it is the best marathon they have ever been to. Not that they had run a personal best but the atmosphere was amazing and should be experienced. I always wanted to run in the NYC Marathon and I was lucky enough to gain an entry for this November.

At the beginning of this year I had three running goals and they were to run in the Los Angeles Marathon which took place in March, to run in the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon which took place in June and to run in the NYC Marathon which will take place November 6th. These goals coincided with me turning 40; however; I missed the first two races and wasn't even thinking about running the third race until the member asked me about it. Based on my current situation it was not feasible to run in any of these races; however; the NYC Marathon is paid for and I do have a free airline ticket so the thought crossed my mind to run in the event. I was even thinking of raising money for problem gambling research and treatment as part of my entry to the race and now I am thinking of raising money for my dear friend in Louisiana.

Now this brings me to the idiot part; I had made up my mind I was going to run in the NYC Marathon because who knows if I will ever have the chance to run in this race again. So I decided to start my marathon training yesterday. I have run in three marathons and have had my share of knee problems over the past few years so I know to take it easy early on and build up as the marathon comes closer. I was feeling very good yesterday during my run and decided to do speed intervals (this is where I go fast for four minutes and slow for two minutes over a 64 minute period). At about the 63rd minute I felt a strange sensation not in my knee but in my right calf. It was as if someone had dug an ice pick in the back of my calf. I immediately stopped running (which is a big step forward for me because in the past I would have "gutted" out the last minute because I had to finish what I started!) and limped off to take a shower. After showering I had some ice balm and applied it to the area and when I got home I iced my calf for 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off over the course of the next three hours. But I guess I did some muscle damage because I am hobbling around the house like a 100 year old man. I have treated the injured area with all types of balm and ice but the only cure is time and rest which means NO RUNNING YOU DOPE!!

I really wanted to run in the NYC marathon and I do want to complete the run so being injured is really not a good way to start my training. I will see how it feels next week and make my decision on whether to maintain my training or just stop altogether. I know most of you are saying this person has lots of other "things" to worry about why is he even considering running in the NYC Marathon, well it is one of those "things" which keeps me sane and really helps in my recovery.

I would like to raise awareness of problem gambling and I think a good way would be to help raise money for this cause. One of the positive things I do is to run and what better way to complement each of these than to run in the NYC Marathon. However; if I am injured and cannot walk let alone run than why the hell would I pursue it, good question and something I really must think about.