Running for Your Life: Running Season?

I do understand the idea of running season. That for five months of cold weather a person who considers herself fit turns away from lacing up her Nikes and instead goes to the pool and does laps, or takes a class. Zumba.

What’s at issue is the underlying premise. That running as a pursuit, as a pleasure, isn’t what we are talking about. Rather the premise is that it’s a necessary evil. As in, what’s necessary to reduce weight, or to keep weight off, to forestall memory loss, to keep looking young.

For me, though, running isn’t confined to a season. Thus the title, Running for Your Life. And not only due to my condition that I’ve written about here: My deep vein thrombosis.

Last Sunday (April 12) at 8:30 a.m. I had the simplest of accidents. I tripped over my dog, and with my hands full, stumbled forward, and landed with considerable force on my chin. One of the funniest words in the English language: Faceplant. A nasty gash opened, requiring five stitches to close. Because I am a “bleeder,” due to taking blood thinners, a doctor watched me carefully for any signs that I was having head trauma, as in intracranial hemorrhaging.

Thankfully, I wasn’t. Part of my reasoning? Because I'm careful with my medication. And I run. I keep myself in shape. All seasons. (I don’t swim and find running is the lone pursuit that works for me.) It keeps the swelling of a damaged DVT leg in check. So I run. Not just in running season. But every other day for as long as I can.

Next: Running for Your Life: “It Follows”


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