The Calm After The Storm

I'm an injured runner. No running, walking, weight-bearing exercise, bouncing, jostling or dancing  allowed. What better time to share my very first Running Blog Post, right?

Probably not.
Humor me, won't you?

It's unbearably hot and humid. It's Florida...in August...duh. A walk from the front door to the car requires one to change their sweaty underpants. You can imagine how miserable *running* would be. (If you're a Floridian, swap out "imagine" for "remember") And, yet, the above picture of my nephew accurately depicts the way I feel about my current situation. (sidenote: he's adorable and doesn't usually look so grumpish. My very talented photographer friend just happened to catch a cute moment)

(insert whiny voice)
Everyone else gets to feel the lava-like pavement seeping into and blistering the bottoms of their feet.
All the cool people get to feel like they're trying to breathe through a wool blanket, while running.
My running friends get to awaken at 4:15 am, to try to beat the stifling, 6:00 am heat.

Running bloggers, family and friends are all posting amazing tempo runs. They're feeling spectacular after 18-milers. 5k times are plummeting, marathon training plans are being closely followed, training runs are being nailed. They're all loving life, getting faster and stronger and I'm stuck on my bum!!

To add icing to the CrapCake, The Olympic Track and Field Events begin, today. Just to further taunt me, of course.

 It's. Not. Fair. AndIhateit!! (end whiny voice)

Although fully aware of how jerkish this makes me sound, I am unable to contain my rant. Once I moved past the (all new!!) stage of Denial about Denial of being injured, I slid easily into the more well-known days of Actual Denial. ( Bargaining was skipped, altogether, as the pain was too severe to even dream of continuing to run. ) Currently, I'm in the throes of a thrilling mix of Anger, Depression and Forced Acceptance. (reference)

I'd tossed around the idea of starting a blog for many months. Recently, a dear friend, (who also happens to share my last name) encouraged me to do so. I was thinking of our conversation when I glanced at 2 of my 3 boys (more on them to come) sitting quietly on the couch.

Ignore the fact that they're wearing last year's halloween costumes and focus on how calm the moment is. Thx.

This very rarely happens in my daily life. The calm, that is. I initially titled this post "The Calm Before the Storm". It's generally understood that any moment of quiet and peace will soon be followed by wild chaos. I'd planned to tie this into my current Running State of Affairs (RSOA). Something about : This is just the calm before a "storm" of racing and PRs! Woo hoo!! blah,  blah , blah...you get the gist.

Then, I remembered the last few days preceding this one. I ran those children into the ground! We filled our time with swimming, trips to Summer Movies, lunch playdates with cousins, dinner playdates with friends, soccer, tennis...phew! They aren't sitting (in halloween costumes) planning their Big Comeback. They are recovering.
Such a beautiful, calming thought, isn't it? Recovery. I put my body through a slew of local races and then leapt, feet-first, into Marathon training. (my first. Are you more sad about my injury, now?) This is not the time for me to jitter, on the edge of my seat, waiting for the Invevitable Crazy Comeback Storm. This is the time for me to be calm and recover. I have no clue what is coming over the next few weeks' time. It was foolish for me to plan and stress about an unknown future.

So, I will venture into blogging. I will elevate my stress-fractured ankle. I will enjoy the quiet and monsoon-like moments my children produce. I will calm. the heck. down.

Care to join me?