Me And Mayer For 3 1/2 Miles

Neon, neon - John Mayer in my ears ...
Thwip, thwip, thwip - my shoes on the pavement ...
Why in the hell am I doing this? - that's my brain as I hit mile marker 1.5
on my three and a half mile run.

Here I am, or there I was (that is the nature of running, after all ...) doing something that I just knew would kill me, and is now
sustaining me.
I once said if you caught me running, someone was chasing me, and I'm
not altogether sure that could get me to run either.
And here I am, one foot after the other, pushing and pulling, to get
to mile two.

She's always buzzin' like ne -ahn ..ne -ahn, ne-ah-ah,-ahn - John
Mayer in my ears ...
Schwoomphschwoomphschwoomp - my heartbeat on the hill ...
Jeez, this is really gonna hurt later -- that's my brain as I hit mile marker
2.5 on my three and a half mile run.

I'm not averse to exercise.
I used to fashion myself a basketball player (hahahahaha....)
I loved the contact, the grace of the game, the satisfaction of competition.
But, running?  What the hell was the point in that?
If you were to test yourself, go against another person ...don't
test yourself against yourself ... no reward in that.
Giving yourself props for running from here to nowhere just didn't measure up against the reputation you earned on the playground.
Things change, though ... mostly yourself ... from aspiring athlete
... to just aspiring to live another few years or so.

She comes and she goes like no one can - John Mayer in my ears ...
Swhoo, swhoo, swhoo - the deep breaths picking up speed ...
God, please distract me before I die! - that's my brain as I hit mile marker
3 on my three and a half mile run.

So, I'm reduced this this ... five days a week, trying to distract
myself from the sound and feel of pounding pavement, with John Mayer
or Black Eyed Peas  or Toots And The Maytals providing the diversion.
I do this because I've already been running for the first few decades
of my life ... running from anything that approximated a healthy
lifestye.
Extra poundage, fewer body parts (I popped an anterior cruciate
ligament in my knee playing basketball.  My doctor:  "...look, I made
an "A" in anatomy, and I tell you that sucker is gone !!!"), and a
diagnosis of type 2 diabetes make you reassess harsh promises made
early in life, when you didn't need a car to catch your breath, and
making healthy choices meant a few veggies on that large pizza.
So, the weight's down now, the diabetes is under control, and I may
have another decade or so.
And one unexpected benefit:  when you run in your neighborhood, you
notice your neighbors need to paint their garage doors worse than you do.

Who knows how long, how long, how long she can go before she burns
away - John Mayer in my ears ...
Drip, drip, drip - sweat from my hat falling in my eyes ...
That wasn't so bad ... maybe again tomorrow .-  my brain as I hit mile
marker 3.5 on my three and a half mile run.