Day 662/193: Collaboration

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Thanks to a great medical team, a supportive family, a generous bone donor, and a boatload of titanium, my spine is now the healthiest it has been in years. My surgeon gave me clearance last week to resume running. Not since 2013 have I been able to step outside and go for a jog.

In addition to expressing my gratitude for everybody who has aided me, I also want to thank myself for everything I have done to help my own cause. While doing so is admittedly not the most gracious of moves, danger exists in giving the impression that we are to solely look outside of ourselves for help. Although health outcomes are never guaranteed or entirely in our control to achieve, patients who come into my office, fold their arms, lean back in their chair, and direct “Just tell me what to eat” rarely do as well in the long run as those who collaborate and take a more active role in their own care. Nutrition may be my area of expertise, but my patients are the experts in their own lives, so the highest likelihood of success comes from working together.

Anyway, my two favorite races are the Mount Washington Road Race and the Five College Realtors 10-Miler, the latter of which is coming up late next month. The other day, I mentioned to my physical therapist that I am interested in running it this year. Given that she tends to be my foil, a voice of caution and conservatism who brings reason and sensibility to my ambitious ideas, I figured she would tell me that the 10-miler made more sense as a 2017 goal. Surprisingly, she thinks the likelihood of me being able to race it next month is high. Whoa. We talked about training for the event in the context of my continued surgical recovery and together we developed a plan. In other words, we collaborated.

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