The Long Road

My Achilles surgery has been set for 12:30 tomorrow afternoon, and I'm counting that as the start of the long road back.  I find it interesting that this will be almost exactly six months before WTM, which, theoretically would give me time to heal and prepare to participate.  Of course, as the eternal Yogi Berra said "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."  Whatever theoretical plans we have for our lives, the theory is always overwhelmed by the practical aspects of living that life.  Life is messy, and it requires us to adapt to an ever-changing situation.  The issue is whether you see the mess and think of it as being the reason for your problems or a challenge that you can overcome.  I'm thinking that this is a challenge to overcome.  When I asked my doctor if WTM would be a possibility, his response was "If you said September, I'd say no way...if you said January, I'd say no problem."  Everything in between is where the mess lies.

Let's face it, no one ever wants to get injured, and the older we get, the more difficult it is to bounce back from the various hurts and injuries we suffer.  I have no illusions that my health will last forever.  I don't expect to be doing Tough Mudders when I'm 80 (although, it would be pretty bad-ass).  I had a long talk with my brother yesterday, and he offered his experience as an object lesson.  He played high school football for four years, then graduated and started playing organized rugby, which he played for 15 years or so.  Two decades of collisions, cuts, bruises, injuries, and waking up to do it all over again took their toll on him.  He wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to let myself fall into that trap.  As much as I appreciate the advice, and intend to pay attention to it, there's a part of me (and if I'm honest, it's a damn big part of me) that says that it won't happen to me.  Perhaps it's ego...perhaps it's naivete...perhaps it's simply a better understanding of my own limits and potential, but I don't see this Achilles injury as the end of my trip.  It's a big hurdle...the biggest Berlin Wall I've ever approached...but it's something I know I can tackle and overcome. 

Just to be clear, though, I intend to be smart about the recovery.  As much as it would hurt to miss WTM this year, I'm not going to trade permanent injury for the opportunity to participate.  But, as I said in my last post, if that is to happen, 2014 better watch out, because I'll come back with an attitude.