Doctor's Orders

Recuperation:  late 15c., "recovery or regaining of things," from Latin recuperationem (nominative recuperatio) "a getting back, regaining, recovery," noun of action from past participle stem of recuperare "get back, regain, get again," in Medieval Latin "revive, convalesce, recover," related to recipere (see receive). Meaning "restoration to health or vigor" is from 1865.

 

 

After some recent 20-mile weeks, my running log showed a dismal 3 miles last week as I struggle back into some semblance of fitness again.  Almost all of my symptoms have disappeared, and I am thankful after all that I only missed 6 days of running, which I have to attribute to a combination of cross-protection from the influenza vaccine I had in October, the rest and good nutrition of last week, and the careful easing back into exercise. at the end of the week.  This hard-won "getting back, regaining, recovering" of lost ground after an injury or a sickness is one of the minor miracles that we as runners are perhaps too accustomed to experiencing.  But I am thankful for the beginning of the journey to "restoration to health and vigor!"

And today I was ready for some therapy of a more intense kind, so I turned to my trusted friend Dr. Bearpen for a little consultation.  He prescribed four miles of relentlessly-climbing mountain, capped with a bracing dose of spectacular view:  the lakes of South Carolina gleaming brightly on the horizon, the afternoon sunlight warming my shoulders.  Doctor's orders.