Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ron Vitale was influenced by the likes of Tolkien, Stephenie Meyer and French culture, but has never forgotten his roots, proud to be able to correctly order a cheese steak at Pat’s steaks.
During his early 20s, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and French and then went on to obtain his Master of Arts in English, at Villanova University. After graduation, Ron entered the world of medical publishing, utilizing his editing and technological skills. In October 2007, Ron published his science fiction short story collection The Jovian Gate Chronicles that answers the question: What happens when humans cross paths with intelligent aliens who claim to be prophets from God? In the fall of 2008, he released his fantasy novel Dorothea's Song, a tale of a young high school student who copes with his parents’ divorcing by dreaming up the story of Dorothea, an elf who lives in the magical forest.
More recently, Ron published his book Cinderella's Secret Diary (Book 1: Lost) and had his article "If You Don't Have a Social Media Crisis Communications Plan--Get One" published in PRNews' PR Digital Guidebook, Vol. 3. Currently, he is keeping himself busy, penning articles on social media and writing, and on learning how to be a good father to his kids all while working on his next novel.
Read an interview with Ron Vitale in the News of Delaware County.
Injury
On Sunday my wife and I came home fairly early with the kids from the beach. We had stayed overnight and unpacked and I looked at the clock. It was getting late in the morning and I had hoped to run 11 miles as it was my long run day (part of my half-marathon training program). My wife wanted to run late in the day. I put on my running clothes, grabbed some water, my waist pack and, well, ran. Outside it was 76 degrees and the humidity was horrible. It began to rain, but the humidity only increased. I sweated, pushed on, focused on my form and ran. In my head, I allowed all my thoughts to roam free. Problems, creative ideas, fears--it did not matter. I would focus my mind, roll it up and use my willpower to run. And I did, until I hit mile 8. Tired, exhausted and overheated, I wanted to stop running. My body wanted to stop as I had just finished running up a half mile hill, but I pushed onward. The rain came again (spotty shower, not too bad) and I breathed and ran. I could feel my energy slipping away and knew that I had to trick my mind into not thinking about... each... step...
And I did trick myself until I made it to mile 10. At about a third of a mile past that, I came to a street light and needed to stop as traffic was coming. I looked at my watched and made a decision to stop running. I had pushed over beyond what I felt capable under the weather conditions and missed my mark by .7 miles but was pleased that I had made it so far under such horrible running conditions. I took some deep breathes and when the light turned green started walking home. I rummaged through my waist pack and realized that I had left home without my cell phone, had no more energy goo to eat and was now out of water. In my rush to get out and run, I had left all the important things that I needed.
On my walk home, I took a back way and I could feel my left foot starting to throb (not a good sign) and the tightness in my right knee. The sweat saturated me and I was drenched. No energy left in the tank, thirsty and hurting, I stumbled on toward home in pain and tired. I walked through a wooded area and followed the path, looking down at the creek there. The rain fell harder but the sound of the running water soothed me. I imagined standing in the middle of the creek and letting the cool water wash over my hurt and tired body. I had given all that I had and failed. I had missed the 11 mile mark and I had pushed myself too hard injuring my left foot. I suspect that my injury came from poor running form for those last 2 miles.
For those few minutes of walking by the water, I took solace in nature and had a moment of peace. How often have I tried to make something happen in my life? To push hard against the walls around me and stand up? And then been pushed down or fallen. I wanted to slip sideways into the water and to drawn away to relaxation and peace and calm. But life isn't like that, is it? I made a choice to run and pushed myself past my limits of that day. Eight miles seemed so small compared to what I have run in the past. Why could I not push through to 11? Why?
Today I took off from running to heal my foot. I did run 3.1 miles yesterday and aggravated my injury. It is difficult for me to be patient and give myself time. Sometimes it's difficult for me to be patient with others. But I am hardest on myself and the lesson that I have learned is that I could try and push through on many things. I have sheer force and willpower to make things happen. I have that ability and power, but, you know what? Let me tell you a little secret: Every time I try this, I fail. When I try to use force like this, I fall flat on my face. So as I limp around, trying to heal from my injury, I'll back off. I'll take the time to lick my wounds and wait. Maybe I'll listen to that water again, running and soothing me. That essence of life that's so clear and fresh and cool--maybe that's what I need. An elixir of reality to help ground me to what's true.
Posted at 07:01 AM in Commentaries | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Reblog (0) | | Digg This | |