Woe is me!

This winter and spring has been a great time for our family in every way. Our marriage is in great shape after ten years, the kids are amazing, fun, smart, beautiful - and God has blessed us in uncountable ways over the last few months. Except...

I am falling apart.

I don't mean to complain, and I am not, but it has taken me 32 years to come to grips with getting older. I was surprised to wake up one day recently and discover that I am not 19 anymore. I cannot eat anything I want, at any time, in any quantity (although I usually do); I cannot neglect exercise and still get fitter anyway; I have had a series of times 'losing my train of thought,' where I will literally forget what I am saying as I am saying it; and more. The human body does wind down over time, does it not?

Case in point: Anne and I are training again this year for the Portland Marathon on October 7. In order to have a huge head start, I started training in January. I modestly increased my weekly mileage by three miles each week, which is normal, and began to get fit again. I even grew to appreciate running in 35 degree rain - not an easy sell for a soft creature like me.

In mid-February, 19-year-old Adam was running along comfortably for twelve miles when 32-year-old Adam decided to steal the show. The resulting calf-ankle injury made walking an iffy proposition for two or three days. I prudently cut back my miles, iced the affected area, and after about four weeks was ready to begin easing into training again, when...

Taking advantage of a sunny Saturday to work outside, I stepped on a nail (better, a "spike") that went about 1/4 inch into my injured foot. Once again, walking was interesting for a few days. After resting it for about a week, I was once more ready to head out when...

I got hit with a nasty cold. 19-year-old Adam got sick maybe once a year. 32-year-old Adam has been sick twice in 2007 alone. And EVERY cold symptom this was present this time, not one of those puny "sniffles colds".

Today saw me feeling better and ready again to head out, when...

I had to get immunized for a trip I will be taking soon (details to come) - the full spectrum: Hep A and B, Typhoid, Polio, Tetanus - everything somebody would need for travel in Africa (seriously, details will come).

I apparently fall into the 30% of people who have a mildly serious reaction to the shots: fever, dizzyyyytrkm (just kidding), runny nose...basically my cold has found new allies in the antibodies the nurse gave me.

So, when will I run again? It needs to be soon, because my appetite revved up back in early February when I was still 19, but my clothes are starting to fit me like I am 32.