Running in place

Nothing scares me more than an injury. Something about being down and out when you want to be up and up really makes me shake. I think about it a lot, being hurt that is. When I ride my motorcycle to work I always imagine a car coming into my lane and knocking me down and how that would feel. Sliding at 65mph, on my back, across lanes of traffic and coming to rest against the median or off in a ditch. It really freaks me out.
That or falling off something and getting my arm caught so I dont actually fall all the way but end up hanging there like a lynch victim supported by only my now broken arm grasping at the air in an effort to climb back up. These things haunt my downtime.

I dont know why, I mean Ive never really been hurt before, not badly anyway. Sure I have had my share, maybe more, of cuts and bumps but I have never broken a bone or been torn open so big I couldnt handle it myself. Ive need stitches only twice and once was when I was 3 so that doesnt count. So Im not sure why I have this fear.

All I know is when I do get hurt I hate it. Which makes sense, I dont think a healthy person likes be hurt ever. Its when I have a little pain in my foot or ankle, I would have normally pushed through it and just gone about my life but now it seems to stop me dead. Perhaps its age, or wisdom?

I have watched my father get hurt and stay hurt for a lot of years, mostly because he hasnt taken care of himself in 20 years and to see him not be able to do something really hits home. I dont want to be 50 and not able to run or climb or snowboard. I love those things and to think that a silly shoulder injury could ruin that for me, well that's what I worry about. So when my foot started to get achy last week I took some time off from running. I went for a bike ride instead to relax my foot, that way I could heal and work out.

What Im worried about is letting that thought get the best of me. Thinking that every little pain could be debilitating and knock me out of the game. I dont want to be so worried about injury that I stop doing stuff for fear of being broken forever.

There is something to be said about knowing your limits and listening to your body. When your legs say stop sometimes it does mean 'stop' and not 'push harder'. I dont know, I guess Im a little confused and worried all at the same time. Im not even 30 yet and Im already upset about beign an old man, things like hangovers and back aches are way more meaningful than they ever used to be and I dont like it.

I suppose the best thing to do is eating well and training responsibly. I cant overdo anything and expect to be 100% when I come out the other side, you know, like when I was 19.