Proper Perspective

Today I had some sore legs and so decided to take a yoga class prior to trying to run. The class went ok, though I irritated the “behind the knee” area of my left leg when I did backbend; I’ve had some trouble with this recently. So, I had to stop running 22 minutes into my run and walk it in.

I was a bit irritated and feeling sorry for myself; I did the old “my stupid body is made of tissue paper and spit” routine.

Then, just as I got back to the Riverplex, Jack Stone (a fellow runner who is built like an NFL linebacker) called out to me; he wanted to talk.

Steve Foster, one of my running buddies and an active Illinois Valley Strider member, has pancreatic cancer.

I could go on and on about what a great guy he is (and he is); how he has given so much back to the running community by his holding various offices in the Illinois Valley Striders club; how he got together Saturday Morning runs; how he was encouraging to me when we first met (at the 1997 Eurkeka “do two” 4 mile race, but most of us have friends like that.

So, I’ll make it a point to visit him in the hospital and try to be of service, and I’ll make the usual reminder to my readers to appreciate their friends and loved ones while they are still around to be appreciated.

This sucks. But what Steve has going for him is that he is at a stage where surgery has some promise and he is in supurb physical condition. So if anyone can beat the odds it is him.