I was always embarrassed by the fact I couldn't run.
Like, I could physically move myself along at a greater-than-walking speed, but I relate to not being a runner. My face would burn. My lungs would burn. My back would burn. My extraordinarily flat feet would burn. My shame would burn. Suffice to say: this is not a hurdle I overcame (pun neither intended nor discarded).
That burn in my back manifested as nerve pain in my hip severe enough to derail my nascent stay-at-home dad career a couple months just a few months into the job. I was 32 and had a blown disc in my back. They took out some of the disc, then some more, then fused it all together a year or two later.
Cut to five years later. I'm working for LocalTechCo and go in for a massage, which they provided free onsite. The guy takes a long look at me and says, "You know your left leg is longer than your right leg?"
I went to a podiatrist who sent me to get a Scanogram (Actually A Thing). Sure enough, my left leg is four-tenths of an inch longer than my right. Now I walk around with a quarter-inch lift in one shoe (any larger and my foot would fall out of a regular shoe) and it's done a lot to eliminate the back pain.
I've been thinking a lot about it again lately. I have to tell you, this revelation fuuuucked me uuuup. That tiny difference—it had such an outsized impact on my life. The way I explained it to my wife was that it's like I'd been walking around with a sheet of plywood glued to the bottom of my foot for almost 40 years.
Anyway, cool story, bro. One of the things I like best about Drawing Links is that these stories have so much breathing room. They're dreamy in the literal sense, and little bits and pieces of them keep recombining in my memory. They always make me think of something else, which is how I got off on this self-pitying tangent in the first place.
I love this one, Edith! You always find the most interesting things to link to, that connect to the story in the comic. Going to check out "Run For Your Life" now...
I was always embarrassed by the fact I couldn't run.
Like, I could physically move myself along at a greater-than-walking speed, but I relate to not being a runner. My face would burn. My lungs would burn. My back would burn. My extraordinarily flat feet would burn. My shame would burn. Suffice to say: this is not a hurdle I overcame (pun neither intended nor discarded).
That burn in my back manifested as nerve pain in my hip severe enough to derail my nascent stay-at-home dad career a couple months just a few months into the job. I was 32 and had a blown disc in my back. They took out some of the disc, then some more, then fused it all together a year or two later.
Cut to five years later. I'm working for LocalTechCo and go in for a massage, which they provided free onsite. The guy takes a long look at me and says, "You know your left leg is longer than your right leg?"
I went to a podiatrist who sent me to get a Scanogram (Actually A Thing). Sure enough, my left leg is four-tenths of an inch longer than my right. Now I walk around with a quarter-inch lift in one shoe (any larger and my foot would fall out of a regular shoe) and it's done a lot to eliminate the back pain.
I've been thinking a lot about it again lately. I have to tell you, this revelation fuuuucked me uuuup. That tiny difference—it had such an outsized impact on my life. The way I explained it to my wife was that it's like I'd been walking around with a sheet of plywood glued to the bottom of my foot for almost 40 years.
Anyway, cool story, bro. One of the things I like best about Drawing Links is that these stories have so much breathing room. They're dreamy in the literal sense, and little bits and pieces of them keep recombining in my memory. They always make me think of something else, which is how I got off on this self-pitying tangent in the first place.
Holy Shit, I Just Wrote An Essay: An essay.
Michael, I love this. Thank you. Also: Holy shit! And shoutout to that podiatrist... Also, the "shame would burn" part really resonated with me.
I love this one, Edith! You always find the most interesting things to link to, that connect to the story in the comic. Going to check out "Run For Your Life" now...
Thank you, Terrell! The best running writing (like your newsletter!) makes me want to put it away and go outside
This has given me hope that one day I will look back at the old me and wonder how I was so averse to running.
It is totally possible, Ariel!