Tag Archives: ACL

I’ll always be a runner: the quest for self-identity

Posted on February 28, 2017 by nancytinarirunswrites

  Throughout childhood and adolescence we try to figure out “Who am I?” and we answer that question partly by attaching labels to ourselves. Before I became a runner, I identified myself as a bookworm, a writer, an actress, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Psychology, Running | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The middle-aged athlete: bliss on a precipice

Posted on February 2, 2017 by nancytinarirunswrites

In middle age, those of us who still love to run—if we’re blessed with good health and body parts that are holding together—know that we’re not too old to experience physical bliss. I thought of calling it “physical perfection” but … Continue reading →

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Beauty Behind the Madness: high in the fog

Posted on April 28, 2016 by nancytinarirunswrites

February 2016 I was pumped from the gym. I’d done my whole workout while listening to a new album I’d just downloaded from iTunes: The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness. The Weeknd is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, a Canadian-born singer-songwriter of … Continue reading →

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Pretending to run like a kid on the soccer field

Posted on November 18, 2015 by nancytinarirunswrites

My arthritic knee was more cooperative than usual in September and October. I even managed to do two or three “real” workouts with my Phoenix club in Mundy Park. Those times are rare for me now; it’s a kind of ecstasy … Continue reading →

Posted in Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Running, Vignettes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The middle-aged athlete: resignation or living on the edge?

Posted on May 20, 2014 by nancytinarirunswrites

Being a middle-aged athlete is a bittersweet experience. I reject the option of “acting my age” and working out at a “sensible” intensity–no, I choose to challenge my limitations. This means I have to accept a see-saw of emotions. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Why am I running so badly?

Posted on August 13, 2013 by nancytinarirunswrites

There are many possible answers to that question. I have an arthritic knee. I have a sore hamstring. I’m only running twice a week, at most. I worry too much. I’m an insomniac. I eat a little bit of junk … Continue reading →

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My knee is an Alien

Posted on May 31, 2013 by nancytinarirunswrites

I remember reading somewhere that an anorexic who has starved herself almost to death can look in the mirror and see a fat person. I never truly understood that until my latest (permanent) knee injury. Within a period of about … Continue reading →

Posted in Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Running | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Afterward: Running after the Olympics

Posted on October 14, 2012 by nancytinarirunswrites

I never again ran a faster 10K than my Olympic time of 32:14. My heel bursitis was a serious chronic injury that sidelined me for most of 1989. The following year, I was running well again, but Paul and I decided to … Continue reading →

Posted in Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Racing, Running | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why do people tell me I’m limping?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by nancytinarirunswrites

Even my friends often remark that I’m limping. What is the purpose of that, I wonder? Do they think they’re being empathetic? Maybe you think I’m irritated by it because of course I know I’m limping. No, that’s not the … Continue reading →

Posted in Injuries and Getting Older, Running | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Trying to be whole with a bum knee

Posted on August 14, 2010 by nancytinarirunswrites

My right knee has been badly damaged since March 2009, when I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) doing a freak manoeuvre at the gym. I was running  fairly well again by October 2009 in spite of my “missing link”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Running | Tagged , , | 2 Comments