Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Many of you know that I have been working hard to fulfill my bucket list of running a half marathon in every state. In January 2021, Wayne and I took a trip to California to pick up a used car that we purchased. On our trip home, I ran in New Mexico and Oklahoma. Unfortunately, at the end of my race in Oklahoma, I felt a pop in my foot and I was in a lot of pain. After many months of pain and many visits to doctors, I was finally diagnosed with a torn plantar fasciitis. The first doctors I saw mistreated me and I ended up in pain for a longer time. Finally, this past fall, I went to Bluegrass Orthopedics in Lexington and they put me in a cast for a month. After two more weeks in a boot, I started physical therapy to help me with my foot. During this therapy, they also used dry needling, which was not fun. It was during all of this treatment that my doctor recommended that I not run anymore. He said that since I had torn my plantar fasciitis, I was more likely to have it happen again. Since I was finally in a place where at least I could exercise after months of being side-lined, I decided that I would embrace the doctor's warning and take what I could.
But what would I do about my almost finished bucket list? I mean I had 35 states done. I decided that since it was just for me, I would come up with a substitute. Walking the 13 miles was frowned against as well since it put the same kind of stress on my foot. In my research for alternatives, I came across a piece of equipment called an elliptigo. I was similar in the motion I use for running, but would take the pressure off of my foot. After talking it over with Wayne, we started looking for a used elliptigo. We found one at Play It Again Sports. The previous owner had purchased it and never used it.
Today, I completed my “race” in Mississippi…36th state! I decided that I would take my average half marathon time and ride my elliptigo for that amount of time. So, I rode my elliptigo for 2 hours and 20 minutes, which resulted in a 24 mile ride. We rode along the beach from Gulfport to Biloxi. It was a beautiful ride. After completing my race, I tested my foot and it feels fine. I’m exhausted like I would be after a run, but my foot is not in pain.
Sometimes life is that way, we plan one thing and it turns out another. When I started my bucket list 11 years ago, I never thought that I would end my races using an elliptigo vs running. But that is okay. The older I get, the more I realize that flexibility is a great attitude to have in life. Just because you have to modify your dream or what you had planned, doesn’t mean it is all over. Maybe you had a dream that you thought was over. My challenge to you is to not give up on your dream! It may look a little different then you planned, but never give up!
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