See Diva Run

It has been a cold, rainy summer, and the cool damp weather is taking its toll on Jasmine. Her back legs are very weak, and now we are seeing weakness in one of her front legs, too. At times it is a struggle for her to stand or walk. Watching her struggle is heart wrenching for me. At times I have wanted to rush over and help her. Sometimes I just want to go somewhere and cry. Although I’m inclined to feel sorry for her, Jasmine doesn’t feel sorry for herself. Self-pity isn’t a canine foible. The fact that it’s difficult for her to move may slow her down, and shorten her trips, but it doesn’t keep her from moving. She doesn’t pine for the days when she could run, she just gets around as well as she can. On days that are dry and sunny, but not too warm, she perks up dramatically. Earlier in the week she was trying to drag me down the street for a run. She transformed from the mellow girl who accepts life as it comes to a joyful adventure seeker. It was a blessing to witness. The lesson for me was that I shouldn’t feel sorry for her. I should celebrate that she is still here, and doing the best she can. And on the days she feels like celebrating with a joyous romp down the street, I will celebrate even more.

I went for a training run with my friend Gladys Saturday. She likes to train on a track at a local middle school. I decided to try for 5 miles, in hope of running the Nike+ Human Race 10K next weekend. It was my longest run since April. It was bright and sunny, and the heat quickly sapped my energy. At times I thought about quitting, but I kept telling myself “one more lap”. While I was happy to have made the 5 miles, I was troubled by the fact that it took nearly 58 minutes to go the distance. I have a tendency to mourn the runner I once was, instead of celebrating the fact that I’m still here, and still moving. It’s a very human tendency. We are all about progress. Things need to be continually improved. We aren’t good at accepting our lot in life. This is often a good thing, but it does have a dark side. Many of us lack the wisdom to recognize and accept the things we can not change. Jasmine does, and I sincerely hope that one day I will be able to apply that wisdom to myself.

Learning to be content where I am is a struggle for me, but I am making a conscious effort to get there. In the meantime, I’m also trying to learn to relax. Jasmine is doing her best to teach me, but I insist on sitting at a computer for hours instead of taking a nice nap on a soft blanket, or relaxing on the couch. She has taught me that there is no trauma in life so great that it can’t at least be temporarily vanquished with a treat. That is a lesson I wish I could unlearn, but I’m glad that it works for her. She gets 10 years younger the moment she hears me opening a bag of treats.

What would we do without our best friends?

This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.