Spring Equinox and a Bad Hip

Today is the first Sunday of Spring in 2019. It is beautiful here in Northern Colorado. I can look out my window and see what’s left of the three inches of snow we received on the first Friday of Spring 2019.

I usually get up on Sunday make the morning coffee and write about things that are important to our store and the rest of the world. Today was slightly different.

Starting with the coffee. Elaine recently purchased a coffee machine that someone needs to put in the required amount of coffee beans and water, press a button and ten minutes later, they are drinking pretty good coffee. Not today. I put in the required coffee beans and water all right, but I left off a part or two when I assembled the machine trying to make coffee. Today I made brown water, and it wasn't very brown.

Elaine took it upon herself to actually make coffee, real coffee. Waiting for a cup, I started getting dressed to go to town.

A couple months back, Ivy asked me if I wanted to run another race. I haven’t run in a while. My hip hurts when I run on the treadmill at the gym.

Ivy: Dad, do you want to run four miles in a race called Spring Equinox? Me: When is it? Ivy: On Spring Equinox, that’s why they call it that! Me: I could have guessed that, when is Spring Equinox? Ivy: The end of March.

I thought of plenty reasons to say no, without admitting my hip hurt. I’m a “baby boomer”. We like cars! If a “baby boomer” needs to travel over one hundred yards, we drive. Four miles is more than one hundred yards. This sounds like it would be better to drive.

The weather can be bad in the Spring. It can snow! I didn’t want to run in snow. I will drive in the snow. Running? No, not running!

Somehow, I forgot about my reasons not to run and told Ivy I would race. Today was the Spring Equinox Four Mile.

As I mentioned the the morning was beautiful, no snow and the sun was shining brightly. Driving to town, I decided to come clean.

Me: Ivy, I’ve been having some trouble with my hip. I don’t know if I’m going to run. Ivy: You don’t need to do this for me, if you want we can just go to breakfast instead. Me: Let’s go to the race. I can make my decision there, but breakfast sounds good.

Standing at the start/finish line, I said, “Let’s see what happens. When you get to the finish line, wait a while. If I don’t come, get the truck and come get me. I will be sitting somewhere on the race course.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but I guess I made Ivy worried for me.

The race started. I was thinking, “Hey, I’m running.” Running next to me was a tall young woman. 6’4’’ tall. She was breathing heavily. I listened to her breathing and forgot I was supposed to hurt. She started to run away from me at about the one mile mark.

Somewhere between mile one to mile two, I stepped in a small hole. It jarred me enough to aggravate my hip. I thought this might be a great place to quit, wait for Ivy to take me to breakfast.

My mind takes me to strange places when I run. A man, I’m guessing with a few years on me passed by. I noticed he had braces on each knee. My mind went into “Monner, you can’t quit” mode. I ran with the "old" guy for a while. My hip didn’t hurt anymore. I saw the tall woman ahead of me. I left the old guy and decided to run with the tall woman.

At three and a half miles, I saw Ivy coming back for me. I waved to Ivy and told her “I’m fine, I will meet you at the finish line.

At the finish line, Ivy said, “I was worried about you. I didn’t think you would have a heart attack or anything like that. I thought your hip would give out and we wouldn’t get breakfast”.

Incidentally, this was my best time in a four mile race. The thought of breakfast makes me faster.

BUY YARN!!

Our crazy lives!

Monner