NO RUN FOR 30 DAYS MAKES JACK A DULL BOY. HERE'S WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Unless I relapse today and break out in a five miles, I will make it to 30 days without a run. After nearly 2 years struggling with an injury, I finally got an MRI which discovered a tear in my Quadricep

Of course it has taught me a few things.

1. REALITY ISN'T MEANT TO BE AN ALL DAY THING
I always felt that the hardest part of being sober is being fully immeresed into reality 24 hours a day. Like a TV that is always on, always blaring, and you can't turn it off, can't step away. SOBER stands for Son Of a Bitch Everything's Real. One of the best ways to make reality more tolerable and to enhance it into something with incredible joy is to go for a run.

2. CARDIO IS KING
I've been doing more weights, but as much as I pick things up and put them down, it just isn't the same. Cross-training and weights help to refresh and energize, but they just don't tap into those deeper parts. 

3. STEVEN WRIGHT IS A GENIUS
One of my all time favorite jokes goes something like this:

"I saw a cop, but then I remembered it was Halloween, so it could just be a regular guy dressed up as a cop, but then I realized that's all a cop really is anyway"

Doctors are just people dressed up as doctors. Yes, they are experts, but they are also the people you went to school with who were lazy and cheated and skipped class (I know, because I did those things too).
In my case, doctor okayed cross-training and suggested leg weights. I followed doctors orders and did light leg weights. Nothing strenuous at all. Leg extensions. Squats. Something told me this may not make sense, doing weights on a torn muscle, but I wanted to do this right. Well, it made things noticeably worse, and put me back two weeks. I have since stopped, and noticed an improvment. I certainly think strenght training can prevent future injuries once I"m healed, but, damn it....

4. TIME (YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE, ASK A BUSY PERSON)
All that time I spent running. What would I do with it? Well, the answer is, not much. I find that the more I have to do, the more precious I treat the time. Without running, I have watched far too much reality TV. "American Idol" (Jena Irene is from my hometown), "Love It or List It", or another favorite, "Million Dollar Listing - New York"

Frederick of Million Dollar Listings

5. CREATIVE JUICES COME FROM SWEAT
My brain gets lubricated from a run, ideas seep in, characters come alive and speak to me. Now I got nothing, so I sit at the computer and type "No Run for 30 Days Makes Mark a Dull Boy"

6.THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED
Listening to music while running makes the songs come alive. Dare I say it is like watching Pink Floyd's THE WALL high?  It just makes more sense and becomes a full body experience. In the back of my mind, I fear my recovery will never be complete, and I'm done. Bye bye my american pie...

AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!