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Why We Run #32: Because My Heart Is No Longer Broken
I still don’t love running. I never will. However, my heart has finally healed enough to run freely for as long as I want.
I was never a runner.
It started with basketball, shifted into football, dabbled in running around the baseball diamond and ultimately returned to basketball. Any guy who’s played organized sports learned early that not only is running an important part of conditioning, it’s also instrumental in establishing discipline. Some of us grew to hate running because it was form of punishment.
My relationship with running was mostly ambivalent until I couldn’t do it anymore. When you’re told you can’t do something, the desire to do it grows.
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I had a heart attack in 2011 that nearly took my life. Over the next few years, I experienced multiple start and stops; minimally invasive procedures that involved clogged arteries and lead replacements for an implanted device. In layman terms, doctors said that I would no longer be able to do what I loved the most. I had to face the reality that I was no longer an athlete.
So I started off small. Instead of setting an outlandish goal like running a 5K…
