[follow_me]
I slid over to the YMCA for a quick 35 minute swim at lunch and when I’m getting out, who do I see? The Cyrus of East Nasty!
Most of the blame for my triathlon addiction goes to Jim, but Cyrus was a huge influence on my running. He has the kind of poise and confidence that could convince you to warm up for a half marathon with somersaults.
So, he’s climbing in the pool as I’m sitting on the edge and I cannot resist tapping his genius with a few questions about my sore Achilles.
“You training for something, Cyrus?,” I pried as a set up question.
“Yeah, I’m gonna do a little sprint,” he answered with no sign of weakness.
“That’s cool, you ready?,” I asked knowing he was.
“Well, I haven’t been on a bike since Ironman,” he replied to my disbelief.
(To my best recollection he did Ironman Louisville at least 3 years ago).
“Haven’t seen you out at East Nasty lately,” he scorned while pulling on his swim cap.
And the table was set!
“Yeah, I’ve had some problems with my Achilles.”
“Oh, yeah, seems like I fight that once a year. Always when I haven’t been running much, then go too far.”
Aha! That is exactly what I did, so I am inching closer to him on the edge of the pool in full suspense of his magical remedy.
“Uh, so, what do you do about it?,” I asked with a casual face, but a beating heart.
“Well, I do a little ice, and roll it out with my stick, but honestly . . . ”
And this is when I knew the good stuff was about to flow.
He tilted his head in kind of a way that says, “I hate to tell you this,” then calmly admitted, “I usually just run through it.”
And there it was, the answer I was hoping for. Well, kinda. I quickly told him my latest remedy for a nagging bout of Plantar Fasciitis was to “Refuse to acknowledge its existence.”
He shook his head in agreement, pulled down his goggles and said, “Every human being is the author of his own health or disease,” before disappearing under the chlorinated sky.
The whole conversation felt like a random meeting with my Zen Master. I stared at the ripple of his waves, then slowly climbed to my feet and went about my day.
