My pain has a name and it is Tom Coyne

Hello to all. Good news! I’ve moved past the “holy crap, 26 miles is going to be impossible” to the “maybe, just maybe, I can do this” mindset.

I’m feeling good when I run now. Big props go out to Lowell for the coaching. My knee was absolutely killing me which was causing me to run like a shopping cart with a bum wheel. I would be steady for a bit, and then the wheel would start wobbling and throw everything out of whack. The simple of act of brisk walking for a mile before I start my run has changed everything.

Whilst running the other day, I came to the realization that the problem with my knee in the past and the present is irrevocably linked to our fearless leader, Tom Coyne.

The Present is simple: there is a 99.9% chance that I wouldn’t be running like this if it weren’t for the gauntlet of the marathon.

The Past: 1987, Saint Mary Magdalene. I was in 7th grade. A young, freckled and obscenely pale Tommy Coyne was in 6th. The boys in our grades would often play a recess game against each other called “Kill”. The object was simple: the entire playground was the field, and one team tried the keep the ball away from the other. To get the ball for your team, you would tackle, pile on, maul, and generally “kill” the person on the other team who currently had the ball. Pretty cut and dry. And so it was, that during one of these games, I had the ball and the 6th graders were giving chase. Leading the pack was a young Filipino named Mark Victoria (later nicknamed “the Sniper” in high school football because of his speed). Following close behind him was Tommy. They were closing fast, and I had two choices: pass the ball to a teammate or plant and turn back into them and attempt to break the rush. I chose the latter. Mark went low, Tom went high, and my knee went “POP!” (official medical term: dislocated patella. Laymans definition: my knee got douched). As I lay on the ground, choking on dust and squirming in pain, I heard a “yeah baby!” and saw a kid with a flash of bushy red hair giving a high five to a stout brown skinned lad. My knee swelled up to the size of a grapefruit and was never the same after that. Once I picked up football in high school, it popped out at least 5x per season. So, thanks for that Tom!

On the weight loss front, I’m down 20 lbs since my fitness evaluation (284 to 264). That may sound like a lot, but for me it’s just moved the needle from “morbidly obese” to “fatty boombalatty”. I’m charging hard towards my goal of losing 70lbs. I recently just started a “cleanse” http://www.drnatura.com/ (fyi – do NOT click on the pictures if you do not have a strong stomach…pretty nasty stuff). I’ll keep you posted on the progress, but a few of my friends have done this and swear by it.

That’s pretty much it for now. Sorry we missed the run on Sunday. I could make up some lame excuse, but the truth is that I was hung over from the Phils/Mets game the night before. We’ll be there this weekend.