Wheelchair success: Etihad Airlines to the rescue!

So it was less than 24 hours after I had completed the Dubai Marathon and as you can imagine, I was walking around the streets of Abu Dhabi like a wounded 90-year-old man in some sort of exhausted haze.

I wasn't in real pain. Just sore. Very, very sore. Even my ass hurt.

Everything seems to fall apart when you run 26.2 miles. First you get that uncomfortable sensation in your knees, then your ankles. Soon it feels like there are little rocks inside your shoes but no, that's just the painful blisters forming on the bottom of your feet.

Next up is the hamstrings, the quads, your lower back and then my forearms even started to burn. Don't forget the mental demons that haunt you from Mile 15 and beyond.

What the hell am I doing?

After all that, I finished the race and there was actually a light at the end of the tunnel. And that motivational ray of sunshine was a trip to glorious Thailand.

Have you ever been in an international airport and randomly ran into someone you knew? A friend from town, a previous lover or an old war buddy??

That happened to me within the first 10 minutes after we landed in Phuket. It was an old friend Jessica, who I had not really seen since college. She had been traveling with friends and she saw me from afar while she waited in the customs line.

When she recognized me, she actually pulled a confused double-take because I was being pushed around the airport in a wheelchair by a very nice Etihad Airways employee.

Yes, I am guilty. I took advantage of a service that is reserved for people in need. But you should have saw me: I was not in a good place. I needed some assistance and Etihad, as faithful as ever, had my back.

GOOD THINGS ABOUT RIDING A WHEELCHAIR IN THE AIRPORT:

- You don't have to walk
- The good people at Etihad do not ask questions
- You don't have to wait in customs or security check lines
- An Etihad employee was waiting at my destination with another wheelchair

BAD THING ABOUT RIDING A WHEELCHAIR IN THE AIRPORT:

- Everyone stares at you: "Alright, what's wrong with this bastard?"

I wanted to scream, "I just ran a marathon! My bones are old and tired..." Seriously, my very slow movements would have been a hindrance on the collective group of travelers at the airport that day. I was looking out for everyone else. I really believe that. Oh, the humanity!

Nah. Who am I kidding? It was kind of messed up. And if we had not been running a little late for our flight to Thailand, the request would not have been made. But I'm glad I did it.

And I think Jessica changed her opinion when I triumphantly emerged from the iron clutches of the almighty airport wheelchair for just enough time to snap a picture...

Other people from my flight, who were standing near the baggage claim, saw me stand up and a few harsh stares were thrown my way. It was not my finest hour.

But it was OK. My recovery -- physical and emotional -- was actually pretty fast. It only took another day or two before my legs started to work again and by then, I was just another tourist exploring the depths of Thailand. Just like you -- without a wheelchair.