Now This

Mrs. Viper can't catch a break. She had two minor surgeries in the past three months. She got bogged down with work stress. And now, three days after strongly finishing her leg of the Akron Marathon, she wrenches her back getting out of the shower.

She blames something else for the pain that now has her on a steroid regimen, but whatever the cause is irrelevant in the face of stalling our post-race "stay active" plan.

This sucks.

We both have some fitness goals, but it's tough to enact an exercise routine when one of us is stuck with doctor's orders to rest.

Mrs. Viper feels frustrated and discouraged by this new setback. Who can blame her? It has been one thing after another. It's hard to find a groove this way.

Most runners deal with injuries throughout the year, but this is ridiculous. These are freakish occurrences and have nothing to do with the typical "too much, too soon" maladies, which would be more preferable at this point. At least she would have a good reason why she hurts.

My role of head male cheerleader has been relegated to head male nurse. Instead of laying out Mrs. Viper's running outfit this morning, I arranged her medicine next to a glass for water.

Wait, did I just write about laying out my wife's clothing? Yeah, as if she'd let me pick out what she wears! I can barely match my socks, let alone a whole ensemble. But enough about my colorblindness.

The point is we should be building on our experiences at the Akron Marathon, not trying to decide whether the floor is better for her back than the couch.

When you hit a rough patch it shakes your faith. You start to wonder if this will ever end. How do you stay positive during a series of unfortunate incidents?

There was a pretty bad stretch in my life back in the 1990s. It took me to a low place for a number of years, but the experience taught me a lot about perseverance.

The ability to persevere separates those who win Charles Darwin's game of survival of the fittest. That doesn't mean you always have to present a "never say die" attitude, but know that the only constant is change. Life will get better.