Category Archives: running

dosage mistake, error, exhaustion, hyper, mistake, running, sleeplessness

To Err is Human

When my wife and I started foster care for medically fragile kids, I said I could only do it if there was an understanding not to get upset with any mistakes we make, to understand we will make mistakes.  We agreed to do the best we could under all circumstances, and live secure in the knowledge we mattered as best we could.
I had to remind myself of those thoughts frequently this weekend after I screwed up a medication dosage for my son.  As he went wild and didn’t sleep well, I had to keep telling myself “don’t get angry at him.  This is the result of my screw up, and enduring this is my part of the penance.”  I hated this entire weekend, from 9am Sat. when I realized my mistake through 11pm Sunday when I had to let go of consciousness.   The odd part is wondering how much of the wildness was from my mistake and how much was from his wildness of the past few weeks since school started.  Never the less, I feel the responsibility and it feels terrible.
All weekend long, he acted as a kid with no sense of self awareness.  His usual lack of self control looked like times of ideal restraint.  Everything from writing on walls to ripping things from the walls to purposely breaking toys he enjoyed to…was happening.  He has spent at least an hour the last two nights in the corner or sitting/laying facing the couch for time outs.  Nothing slowed him down for long.  Even my running didn’t prepare me for the mental exhaustion I’ve felt this weekend.
Funny thing about running is when I started running again I wanted to be thinner so my wife might find me more attractive.  It was that thought which motivated me to keep running through falls and embarrassingly slow runs.  Then I wanted to run to get back to the weight I was when we got married.  Now I run because it’s a time to lose myself in the songs on the Ipod and the sensation of semi rapid controlled falling from right foot to left and back again as the yards and miles pass underfoot.  I find myself running more and more as a control, a check on the stress of the outside world.  Almost nowhere else in life, am I in control of how much I am willing to endure to continue.  Now if only I had that control for others’ discomfort.  I say this after running to the point of leg cramps after running hills at lunch.  Self flagellation hasn’t really helped me much. 
Here’s hoping, reading a few books with him tonight calms him enough for sleep.  It’s been a few nights, so he’s due.  Heck, our whole house is due. 

As for whether I second guessed myself the rest of the weekend, the answer is yes.  Still, I found myself remembering the quote by Elbert Hubbard, “The greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing you’ll make one.”  So with that in mind, I will keep trying to forget the mistakes of the past and simply do what I can do now with the information I have in the situations I find myself.

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fail, life with MS, Multiple Sclerosis, pain, running, stress

Why run?

Why run?  I can write about reasons to write, but why run?
I write about it because I like running.  It’s a throw back to something I was once good at.  When I threw away my trophies from childhood, I did so because I was tired of hauling them from apartment to apartment.  I remember looking at them as I put them in the garbage bin and being surprised because after more than 15 years of soccer and 5 years of basketball, I had more trophies for running than any other activity despite never formally being a part of a running team.  I raced when I could.  I remember running a few home cross country meets before soccer practice with Coach Mike thinking it was a fine thing for conditioning even if it mean being 15 min late for practice. 
 
So here I am now unable to play soccer or basketball well at all.  The coordination just isn’t there to play well.  Still, I can run which wasn’t always the case during the time I’ve had MS.  Early on, the only exercise I did was the rowing machine because when I fell it was only 6 inches.  However, now I can run, and I’ve even managed to cut my time down on 5k runs from just fewer than 11 minutes per mile to fewer than 8.5 min per mile.  But what do I get out of it?
I get to play a game, “run from the effects of my MS.”  Is it a wonder I fell and hit my head on the side walk training for the 15k?  Seems fitting.  On days where that particular game is lost, OK it’s time for a different one, “chase the shape I want to be” or “chase the shape my wife wishes I had.”
I’m not being honest if I claim those are the reasons.  I actually run because I can (same reason I had as a teen), because I don’t know how long I will be able to run, and finally because it feels less bad than not running.  It takes about 2 miles, but after that my calves no longer feel as tight as before the run when they hurt to walk.  Somewhere around mile 2.5 or 3, my hands stop hurting.  It’s usually right around there when my mind stops racing from place to place and goal to goal, and I can find a sort of peace with my body.  I run for those moments of clarity when I really do feel I’ve won the race with my MS if only for the moment. 
On days after finding out my resume didn’t merit an interview, I run from the let down.  Runners high to the rescue!  It’s my emotional safety net or emotional crutch.  Unlike choosing to follow the advice on how to submit my resume, I know there is no wrong way on a run whose sole aim is to reach exhaustion.  Sometimes what I need most is an activity where I can’t fail so long as I make an attempt.  
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