Daddy Days: Getting older sometimes means letting go of pride

I’ve hit that crossover stage where experience is informing reality when it comes to what I can and can’t do physically anymore. Toby Keith was perhaps a little older when he sang, “I’m not as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” But it’s just as true.

I hadn’t gone on a multi-mile run since high school. However, I’ve held it as a matter of course that I could lace up my sneakers and jog a couple miles if I needed to. After all, I didn’t train to run in high school, I just did it. Why would now be any different? Spoiler alert: It is very different.

I decided to see what I could do. The 11-year-old wanted to come along and it turns out that was the best way to see how vastly different running is to a kid and an early middle-ager.

If I ran too far or too fast as a kid, I would get out of breath and might get a stitch in my side. But I don’t ever recall my legs being tired. However, even for a slow jog, that’s exactly what happened. Less than half a mile in my legs felt like lead. The 11-year-old didn’t regulate his breathing very well, but I have no doubt he could have kept going for a long time. I had to break into a walk and could only marvel at the invisible cement that must have been coating my shoes.

Lesson one, without working up to it I can’t pick up and start running. Lesson two: Furniture mover is no longer a career option. This lesson came first but it didn’t really resonate until recently. A couple years ago while trying to move a piece of furniture that was way too heavy for me, I injured my back.

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Even after the drawn-out physical therapy and recovery I still secretly thought it was a one-off issue from trying to lift an oversize piece of furniture as opposed to a new reality about lifting. However, I’ve now learned (several times) that lighter items also can be an issue. And more importantly, I’ve learned my bounce back time is no longer counted in days but weeks.

The physical therapist who helped me recover said I may have been able to get away with just muscling my way through lifting things when I was younger, but I can’t do that anymore. He said it’s a male trait to think if you could do something at some time in the past you can do it now. This sure seems true.

If I stop to think about it, I know I shouldn’t (and likely couldn’t) pick up a tennis racket and play three competitive sets of tennis on a hot day like I could in my salad days. But, as Toby Keith also sang, 'My body says you can’t do that, son, but my pride says, 'oh yes I can.'”

It’s humbling to go on a run that fades into a walk by necessity. To attempt to lift something and only accomplish moving your vertebrae out of alignment. To have to confront pride based on decades-old laurels.

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I may not be as good as I once was, but I’m getting better at recognizing that. Actually, in that aspect, I’m better than ever.

Harris and his wife live in Pflugerville with their seven children. Please email comments or suggestions for future columns to thoughtsforcaleb@gmail.com .

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Daddy Days: Getting older sometimes means letting go of pride