A nineteen-minute mile is about as slow as one can go without falling over. With a bandage over one eye, I did a lot of weaving and stumbling, still fighting off the fog from days of being medicated on Xanax. The last four runs have been at the minimum mile-plus but today I tried to get back to normal. My wife had a substitute teaching gig this morning, so Tally and I dropped her off at the school just down the street. All of us got up by alarm at 6a, leaving retirement luxury behind for a day’s work. Tally is still expecting her golf cart ride to the dog park but had to settle for a poop in the field adjacent to us. I plan to go to the Chiropractor and then pick my wife up at 3:30. She’s tending to a fourth-grade class today, while I will fend for myself at lunchtime. 

Maintaining my running streak is getting harder and harder, knowing that it will soon come to an end. I find myself saying, “why not today?” There’s not much point in going on when you know that it’s just a matter of time before the one thing that you find disciplinary pride in doing cannot continue. There is a Retired Streak List that would currently place me at #155. To move up to #154 and qualify for the “Well Versed” category (15+ years) I will need to hang on until the end of this year. It all depends on when they schedule my open-heart surgery. 

I’ve made it through illness, hangovers, injuries, marathons, foul weather, work shoes, darkness, high altitude, surgeries, job interference, and travel scheduling. I’ve run on cobblestones, in airports, through dust storms, over uneven sidewalks, bridges, ship decks, sandy beaches, basements, parking garages & lots, hotel hallways, icy streets, steep inclines, creaky treadmills, and wooded pathways in 29 different states and 30 countries. I’ve fought through fog, sleet, snow, rain, high water, traffic, mud, hurricanes, tornados, lightening, extreme heat, nasty insects, and threatening animals to somehow get to the finish line every single day. They will need to knock me out and hold me down to stop this streak, as they plan to do. 

Today was #5,402 and not very satisfying at such a slow pace. I never thought I could run this slow, if you can really call it running! Nor, did I ever imagine having heart problems! A walker passed me again this morning without much effort. I used to be fast, believe it or not! Now, I’m just persistent and stubborn, hoping to make it through two miles, down from the 5k standard that even recently was my daily goal. My wife went back to work today, while my job any more is to keep running, especially on a School Day!