Alternate Reality

In Too-Close-For-Comfort, Alternate Reality World, this is what would be happening : 

In the Alternate Universe, Hammerhead Sharks can fly! 

Today, I would have been anxiously awaiting an X-ray, scheduled at Mayo Clinic, for tomorrow afternoon. It would be my second visit with the specialist and I would be dying to find out if I could finally get the green light to be off the crutches she'd prescribed for six weeks. 

I would have now, not run since December (give or take a couple testers). In fact, I wouldn't have even been walking on two feet or breathing deeply in yoga. My fitness would be gone. My leg muscles almost atrophied. 

In Alternate Reality, though, I would have stuck it out. I would have pushed aside my doubts and wholeheartedly followed the doctor who had just met and knew very little about me. It would have seemed worthwhile when she showed me the healed bone (or the nothing...since X-rays are pretty much useless for stress fractures) on the scan. 

Crutches would be tossed aside, tentative steps would be taken and I would ever-so-gradually be able to incorporate some walk-running, just as the month of May started to creep in. 

It truly wouldn't have been the worst scenario, but...

I just love The Reality so much more 

Cheers to a blissful outcome

I thought, bounced questions and concerns off others, researched and ended up deciding to follow up with my local doctor. 

The aftermath of that visit, the quickly scheduled (next day) CT scan and the follow-up were nothing but good, better and best.  

They definitively ruled out "any underlying masses" (#gloryhallelujah) and finally saw evidence of the offending stress fracture and subsequent healing. 

Through a series of interesting events (not my story to tell, unfortunately) I was also given some very specific and well-researched instructions, moving forward with the new results. It boiled down to me doing just what I had been. Incorporate some walking and light running. When it hurts, pull back and re-group. If it doesn't, keep listening to your body and proceed carefully. 

I had made some good choices and was basically told to keep them up.  

The reigning Queens of Good Choices

Cross-training, including yoga and aqua jogging, were heartily endorsed. I left with a beaming, stupid smile and knew things were finally...finally settled. 

That was April 4th. I have been able to resume training with absolutely no pain. I'm slower than I was 5 months ago, but I know the speed will come back to me.  I've been overjoyed to join friends back on the streets, run some quiet, solo miles,  and even made the decision to travel to Boston, for the marathon. 

another good choice: NOT running the marathon

With a bib in my hand, the sun shining on my face and a chilly morning facing me, it was not easy to make the smart decision. Somehow, it happened, though. While friends and family made their way to the start line in Hopkinton, I jogged through the crowds and cars making their way around downtown Boston. 

It was four miles I never thought I'd be present and healthy for and I was so grateful for the chance. 

Plus, the next day, when fellow airline passengers spotted my Blue & Yellow race shirt and asked "Did you run, yesterday?!" I could cheekily respond : "Why, yes. Yes I did." 

This left me with also plenty of time to eat an un-healthy breakfast (the joys of not racing a marathon), grab a coffee and join the masses to cheer at the finish line. 

Full disclosure : there were several moments, throughout the weekend, some tears escaped before I could reign them in. The moments of pure joy, pride and gratitude far outweighed any of my silly sadness, though. 

Another bonus? I left feeling just as strong and pain-free as I had when I'd arrived in Boston. In Alternate Reality, had I run the marathon (and, boy, did I almost do it!) I would have surely set myself back for many unnecessary weeks. At one point, this had been a goal race for me. 

Things change. Adjustments need to be made to conform to actual reality. 

I hope to update here more often, as my ultimate running goals have only been strengthened. Feel free to read and join me for next few chapters that don't involve being terrified of a cancerous tumor growing in my bone. 

That's an Alternate Reality we can all, happily wave good-bye to. 

Come. Join me up front. 

Every Day is Mother's Day

Well...not really. The title simply helps justify a Mother's Day-themed post written a day late.

My blog. My rules.

 

Life's all about balance. Today's example :

 

When you spend a couple of hours, on Mother's Day, running miles in these sorts of conditions :

that "partly cloudy" description was a lie. Unless sweat in the eyes counts as "clouds"

 

You have to balance it out with spending a greater or equal amount of time doing things like this:

 

bliss for the boys and their mama

 

I hope all of your Sundays were awesome. Next up : Balancing blog-posting laziness with...well...un-laziness. 







 

 

Listening and Learning

My Father-in-Law is in the hospital. When I set out for my run on Sunday, I prayed that God would allow us to keep this man here a year for every mile I ran, that day. Not wanting to be greedy, I stuck to 20 miles. Crisis averted!

So, that's a big, fat downer and I like to keep things on the lighter side. In the absence of light, humorous or thought-provoking material, I turn to my old standby : mundane.

Still reading? If so, my lucky friend(s?), you're about to be rewarded with some Training Talk!!

When I realized I was, in all likelihood going to recover from my stress fracture, I made the sketchy decision to keep my first marathon on my race schedule. If nothing else, my children had now been promised a fabulous Runcation. When the finish line looks like this, it'd be difficult to tell them "There's been a change of plans based on the fact that mommy's dumb".

I had to get them excited about my marathon somehow!

 

 

If you think making that decision was the hard part, you've obviously never tried finding a training plan titled "So You Knocked Out a Few Solid Weeks of Marathon Training, Ended Up With a Stress Fracture and Now You Have Eight(ish) Weeks Until the Big Day. Oh, and You're Not an Elite or a Beginner. Also, You'd Still Love to Finish in Sub 4". 

 

I'll save you the trouble of Googling. It doesn't exist. In the absence of an actual plan, I went ahead and combined four different training plans.

 

My head was ready to explode and I never knew if I was doing too much or not enough. Injury can leave you in a state of constant doubt and paranoia regarding your running abilities. For example : How do you determine your "easy" pace when every running step suddenly feels totally un-natural and HARD?! Trying to combine my newfound fears and confusion with an overwhelming jumble of imperfect (for me) plans, turned me into a mess.

 

Sure, I was knocking out the miles. I was doing it like it was my job. Unfortunately, it was a job I despised and didn't feel rewarded by. It was the one you get up and do, every day, and wonder why you're doing it. While I was grateful for the ability to be able to run again, my confusion and apprehension were sucking the life out of it.

 

Last week, though, I hit a turning point.

 

I ran a 10-miler, as a planned Progression. The first mile was purposely slowish and I worked on making each subsequent mile about 10 seconds faster. I wanted to run it that way, until finishing 9 miles, and then have the final mile be more of a cool-down. (back to a slower pace) It ended up looking like this: I wasn't looking at my watch until the end of each mile, in an effort to pace by feel

 

Goal: 9:30 Actual: 9:30 (nice & easy)

Goal : 9:20 Acutal: 9:16 (this mile's usually my fastest. had to work to keep it slow)

Goal: 9:10 Actual: 9:12 ( trying to compensate for the previous one being too fast)

Goal: 9:00 Actual: 8:59 (hilly mile, too!)

Goal: 8:50 Actual: 8:42 (math was becoming difficult, at this point)

Goal: 8:40 Actual: 8:38 (short pitstop. nice when the route goes right by your house!)

Goal: 8:30 Actual: 8:28 (faster than I've been running, lately, but felt great)

Goal 8:20 Actual: 8:22 (had no idea if this meant I was still on track, or not)

Goal 8:10 Actual: 8:36 (definitely NOT on track, anymore)

Goal : slower, cooldown 8:55 (haha...success!)

 

I had water and a gel with me, which helped. However, I'd also brought along the head and chest congestion from my recent cold. (Next time I'll try to leave those at home.) Those additions made an already difficult run pretty darned ugly.

 

When I was finished, and trying to minimize the puddles of sweat I was leaving around my house, all I could think of was how HARD that had been.

 

actual puddles of my sweat, from that run. Gross, eh?

 

Those thoughts were quickly followed by another, cautiously happy one, though. It was hard, but I'd done it. Other than that 9th, wack-o, mile...I'd set out with a goal in mind and had accomplished it. Who cares how much phlegm I 'd hacked up or how many times I questioned why I was doing this and trying to talk myself out of quitting. I. had. done it!

 

Was it possible that I was actually seeing improvement? Was this clustermess of "training" actually working?

 

The next day I limited my running to the deep water of the pool. I did a tough ladder workout and my legs felt sufficiently "worked".

 

Two days after my 10-mile run, I felt the need to run 4, easy miles, even though it wasn't part of any of my modified training plans. Due to my ever-interesting schedule, my only option was to run them all in a monotonous loop around my block. Many, many times. This time, I chose to not look at my watch at all. I just wanted to run those annoying circles, keep it feeling good and easy, and get it over with.

 

When I finished, I was shocked and delighted to see my splits had ended up like this:

8:51

8:40

8:12

7:59

 

What the heck?!

 

That was the moment I realized it was all coming back to me. Finally. All the confusion and doubt dissipated as I learned what it means to truly listen to your body. My next realization was that a final 20-mile run, before my marathon, needed to happen this week.

 

It ended up being superb timing. My body and spirit held up like champs for all those miles and everything since then has fallen into place beautifully.

 

I've scrapped all the plans, spreadsheets and guides. I'm trusting my body and instincts to get me to that starting line healthy, happy and ready.

 

Who knows. If it works, maybe I'll type of my own "So You Knocked Out a Few Solid Weeks of Marathon Training, Ended Up With a Stress Fracture and Now You Have Eight(ish) Weeks Until the Big Day. Oh, and You're Not an Elite or a Beginner. Also, You'd Still Love to Finish in Sub 4".  training plan. It would probably not have much competition on any search engines...

 

Care to share anything you recently learned?

 

Do you prefer a strict plan or do you train based more on feel?

 



 

 



 

 



Trendy Post

I think this post idea/tag originated from the cool ladies over at this site. I've enjoyed reading other bloggers answers so much, I took this other cool lady's advice and decided to post my own.

Within the next couple days, you will be lucky enough to forced to read my recap of tomorrow's First 5k of The Season (and post-injury) Which Will Be Immediately Followed By Fourteen More Miles of Running. It's a working title, but you get the gist. It's going to be an interesting day, running-wise, and I'm excited about the prospect of sharing all the horrific gory awesome details with you!

Until then, you get this :

1. Best run ever? Most recently, and the one that immediately comes to mind, is my 20-miler. I'd had a nightmare of a run, the prior week, when I ran 18 miles. I joined our running group to run 20 miles of a 22.5 mile loop. It was well-stocked with volunteers, water, goodies, company and quiet scenery. I felt good the entire time and couldn't wipe the stupid smile off my sweaty face from about mile 16 on.

action shot! Not really..that's a bunch of us stopping for water. I'm the one with the ratty hair hidden in a ratty bun.

 

2. Three words that describe your running? goal-oriented, necessary, life-changing

 

3. Your go-to running outfit? I'm typically a pre-dawn runner so I stick with bright colors. I have a couple blindingly bright neon shirts I rotate. My favorite bottoms are anything light and loose.

 

me, on the end, with the neon. And ratty ponytail.

 

4. Quirky habit while running? Hm. That would be an interesting question to ask the people I run with. Otherwise, it's not terribly quirky, but I like nice, even numbers. I'll take as many or few steps, at the end, to make sure my watch reads out a full mile. No willy-nilly, 2.84 milers for me.

 

5. Morning, midday, evening? (knock on wood) My body really adjust well to running any time of day. I'm consistently pretty darned happy just to be able to go for a run. The time of day isn't a big deal to me. As I said, though, I'm typically out before the sun.

 

6. I won't run outside when it's: ummmm...Lemme think...Yeah. I got nothin'

 

7. Worst injury-and how you got over it? I've had to take some time off for groin, hamstring and calf pulls, before.  I didn't really fully understand "injury" until my recent stress fracture, though. I got over it by babying that poor fibula, researching the topic and implementing what I learned and filling my non-running days with pool jogs.



boo! :(

 

8. I felt most like a badass mother runner when: I saw my name, in print, in a local magazine. It was on a list of The 2011 5k Fastest Times (run in FL, by Floridians). I would've never have imagined being recognized for anything athletic. Ever.

 

There's an online version, too

 

9. Next race is: Tomorrow!!

 

10. Potential running goal for 2013? I've set myself up for a dizzying amount of new running experiences, in the upcoming months. I hope to be injury-free enough to conquer my first marathon(s), survive my first relay (an ultra, no less!), enjoy some new PRs in races I already know I love and help some of my very favorite running buddies acheive some of their new goals. And, through the magic of Blogland, we all get to share those moments, together!! Whoopee!!

 

I'd love to read your answers to any or all of these questions, in the comments. Or, if you have a blog, and post your own, please share the link. :)

 



 





 

 

 

 

 

 





 



Warning : Long But Possibly Useful Post

...sprinkled with random, gratuitous cuteness. Non-running family members get forced to read this blog. The least I can do is reward them with some photos.

I've tried to not bore everyone (if you're family or very close friend, you're out of luck) with the daily details of recovering from my injury. I realized, however, that this may make it appear that I was one day sporting this snazzy foot enhancement :

you know you love it

 

 

and the next day out resuming marathon training. This was definitely not the case. In between the boot-hobbling', non-running, whining-filled weeks and the running shoe-wearing, slow, ugly, running, (still) whining-filled days, there was a time of transition.

 

Pretty sad when your foot looks better covered by a hideous medical apparatus, huh?



 

I read every piece of information I could on how to safely return to running, following an injury. There was advice and resources a'plenty. With my newfound knowledge, I compiled my own, loose plan. Maybe, someday, it will make another runner's return just that much easier.

 

Weaning : When I was able to tolerate putting a little bit of weight on my injured foot, I began to slowly (that word is key during rehab) spend less time wearing the boot. I found my muscles and tendons to be completely useless, in that leg, after being confined to said boot. This is totally normal. The whole point of it is to keep your foot immobile. The first few days, I would walk around 3-4x, during the day or evening, just to try to help my feet remember how to work normally, again. It felt "funny", but not painful. Eventually, I left it off most of the time I was at home. This way I could still elevate it, when necessary, but walking from room to room gave me a chance to (slowly) work my way out of Boot Life.

 

Walking : I was lucky enough to have pool running to help try to maintain my fitness and sanity. Also, with it being Summertime, it was something my family and I could enjoy, together.

he was never this excited about running with me

 

 

Everything I'd read, though, touted the benefits of walking to (slowly) work my way back up to running. Thanks to some random hooligans aka sandals I was forced to overcome my fear of putting one, bootless foot in front of the other, and try walking. It was gloriously successful and pain-free. I continued to walk, every other day, and ,eventually every day, slowly building mileage. Even after I passed some key tests I continued to stick to walking. This exercise mimics running, but without the serious impact. It's a great way to work on your form, meet your (non-running) neighbors and whine about how bored you are!

 

Wrunning: I don't remember how I found this link, but it's the schedule I loosely used to work some (slow) running in with my walks. The first day I walked for about 15 minutes and then (oh-so-nervously) tried a slow, steady run. It lasted approximately 10, painful seconds. I immediately stopped, in a panic. However, upon evaluation, I realized that everything hurt. My injured ankle was no more painful than any other part of my body. So I tried again. This time the running portion lasted 3, awful minutes. I knocked out a couple more intervals and headed home, doubtful and discouraged.

 

The following two days, I stuck to walking.  There was no residual pain, but the running had definitely felt disgusting. However, I kept waiting for the "you overdid it, again dummy!" pain to surface, but it never did.

 

I then spent a week concentrating on different walk/run intervals. My plan was to not get stuck on finishing a certain amount of running minutes, though. I needed to listen to AND obey my body. The walking felt perfect. The first sets of running always aggravated my ankle. The pain wasn't stabbish, though, only a dull ache. It also never worsened. Had either of those symptoms been present, I'd really like to think I would've stopped. At some point, during my workouts, though, the ankle pain would disappear.

 

On the off days, I continued to do the pool running. It's zero impact, incredibly boring but cool and splashy.

 



also, notice how lonely the pool looks without me flailing around in it

 

The running was awkward, painful and slow. I think all of the pool workouts helped maintain my cardio, but my muscles (glutes, hamstrings, quads...you name it) protested every time I ran. Turns out running is freaking hard! Neither my brain, nor my body decided to remember that, apparently.

 

 

Also hard, but such an integral part of recovering : don't follow a plan. don't set goals. don't have expectations. There is no way to know how your body will react to each phase of healing, transition and running, again. You can't set expectations for the unknown. It must be taken one step at a time.

 

This is not only my unsolicited advice, it's also a reminder for myself.

 

This week I'm back to full-on, but oh-so-modified, runner mode. I'm still processing the progress but can't wait to bore you to tears with all the details.

 

If you've made it this far, you deserve an award. In lieu of prizes, though, you get to see some darling children eating ice cream. You're welcome.

 

How about you? Any injury recovery advice to share?

 

 

 

 















Exercising Whilst Injured

Disclaimer : I am not a medical or sports professional. If you must know, I'm not even sure I could pass a 3rd grade assessment. (To prove my point : I previously misspelled "assessment", had to use spell-checker, and correct it before continuing.)  All that I share with you is simply my experience.

I hear you, I hear you..."We miss seeing pictures of your boot!" "Where's that delightful Summer wardrobe piece?!" Here you go :

Dear hateful boot ,

 I do not miss you.

Sincerely, Jenn

I'm calling my current running state : transition. I've been running, nice and slowly, for brief segments of my walks. This has been happening for about a week. I'll have a whole 'nother post dedicated to transition. For now, though, we'll take a step back to examine : How To Stay Sane While You Are Unable To Run.

Each situation is, obviously, very different and should be treated as such. Runner's World has a good article regarding injury prevention. In it, there's also a brief guideline for what you may or may not be able to substitute for running, depending on the nature of your injury/health situation.

Bottom line : If you love to run...if Running Moves You (haha...I shamelessly plugged my OWN blog on MY blog! I'm such a loser...) then there's really no substitute for running. Yes, there are bumloads of ways to exercise, maintain cardio and try to keep physically fit. They. AreNOT. Running.

Also, due to the nature of my injury (anterior fibular stress fracture. thanks for asking!) there was actually very little I was cleared to do, exercise-wise. The hated elliptical machine was out, as was riding on an actual bike. (stationary was ok). No running , walking,  break-dancing, zumba, aerobics, belly-dancing, jumping rope...you get the idea. I, like a lot of injured runners, was unable to engage in any weight-bearing or impact-based activities. Blech.

As you can imagine, after a few hours days, I was ready to climb the walls, in frustration.

not literally, as The Middlest enjoys doing

If you ever find yourself, as a runner, unable to run. Here is a list of alternative activities that should keep you off the walls and (mostly) sane.

• Pool Running  - I devoted a small post (It's No Joke), with links and references, to this. I know not everyone has access to a pool. If you do, though, this is a lifesaver. I have been continuing my pool running, even now that I'm running on land, again. My favorite: Kick and splash, spastically, at the excess part of the strap on your AquaBelt because you thought it was a pool creature attacking you.
• Upper Body Workouts - Traditional : You can modify a lot of workout DVDs/Videos, and upper body moves to keep you off your feet. I sat on a chair, couch or sturdy coffee table and bicep-curled my little heart out. It may not be something you feel comfortable doing at the gym, but, at home, you'll be surprised how many exercises you can modify to accommodate a lower body injury. My favorite: Wave your hands and pointed finger at various items you'd like your children to fetch for you. All day. Quality exercise for you AND them!
• Abs - while I was nervous to perform any full plank variations, I did bust on some sets that kept my knees on the mat. Also, sit-ups, crunches, torso twists, V-sits...they were all a-okay. My favorite : Clench your gut as tight as you can to avoid yelling profanities at the random runner jaunting happily past your car.
• Glutes - This was a perfect time to strengthen that oft-neglected body part! Clamshells, donkey kicks (on my knees), reverse scissors, etc. No weight, no impact, plenty of focus on building that special set of muscles. My favorite: Wiggle around, while sitting on the couch, to the catchy song on your ipod. Your 14-year-old child will take his friend and run away, in horror. Again, 2 birds with one stone!
• All-Time Favorite: Constantly complain, whine, blog and  moan about your injury to every person you come in contact with. They will love it and you will be exercising the heck out of your jaw muscles.

If all else fails, though, feel free to go visit this girl. She'll make you one of her (now famous) margaritas and all your non-running worries will disappear...

How do you deal with a running hiatus? 





Beating the Odds

Today's Workout :
2 mile Fast Walk (is that an oxymoron?)
30 minutes (3 "miles") steady pool running

I won't bore you with the boring details of my boring walk and boring "running" back and forth (endlessly) in the boring pool.

(just a teaser. there was pavement! grass! mailboxes!)



Instead, today, I thought we'd celebrate the fact that the 2012 WSOP (World Series of Poker) is currently being aired on ESPN. Televised poker is Reality TV at it's finest. There's money, tension, laughter, drama, romance, celebrities...and, of course,  poker.

While my husband and I are not big gamblers, per se, we do enjoy a good card game. And, when one isn't available, watching other people enjoying a good card game is sufficient.

Raising children, (3 boys, in this case) can often feel like a high-stakes, life-long tournament. You invest everything. All of your time, money, patience and love gets dumped into the pot, from the day they're born. The payoff can be phenomenal, but grinding it out, for decades is exhausting, to say the least.

As much as I love (I really do!) having all the boys home with me for Summer Break, it often feels like we're involved in a 3-month tournament. Winner(s) take mom's sanity.

This brings us to the subject of Proposition Bets. These are commonly referred to as Prop Bets or Side Bets and can add an extra level of excitement to the game. (reference)  Apparently, the regular Summer Tournament wasn't exciting enough for them. Halfway though a poking, screaming, food-throwing, milk-spilling, incessant arguing lunch, yesterday,  I told my husband I was onto them.

 "They must have a Prop Bet going on! They're competing to see who can make me scream say "I can't wait 'til you all go back to school!!" "

totally staged. They don't often sit around, gambling.

Luckily, I'm a much more skilled poker player than they are. Despite being the serious underdog, (3:1 odds?! ...they're almost guaranteed to win!) I know how to beat them at their new game and hold my tongue.

Also, come Monday morning, I know the scene will look a little something like this :



My heart will break. As much as I'll try, I won't be able to wish Summer 2012 back. At least I'll be able to let them go with zero regrets...and a couple of extra chips in my pocket.

It's No Joke

Today's running workout consisted of the following :

• 5 min., dynamic warmup
• 6x5 min hard
• 1 min jog between
• 5 min cooldown, including stretching

Before my dad anyone starts to panic, this morning's run took place here :

site of the now infamous sandal attack

I woke up before my alarm went off. (thanks, Middlest, and your excessive sniffling!)

I've got the pre-run setup down to a science, now, so it doesn't take me too long to get everything ready. The hand-held water bottle, garmin, sports bra, shorts, dri-fit shirt and running shoes have been replaced. There are just a few, key components that need to be gathered up before I can head out the door.

fashionable aqua belt, dirty flip-flops, towel (complete with Oldest's name all over it from Summer Camp), sunglasses (which I don't even use), pool pass, car keys and oversized Christmas nightshirt to use as coverup. (last nights pjs = morning's pool attire. Less laundry AND a uniquely stunning look. Genius, right?!) 





Yep. Until my stress fracture is completely healed, my feet shalt not pound the pavement. Not only is this a huge setback, physically, (I'm in the middle of training for my first marathon) but it also makes me just a big mess, mentally. When I somewhat accepted the fact that this injury was going to take considerable time to heal,  I dove (haha...pool-talk) into researching safe ways to cross-train/maintain sanity.

While stationary biking is generally acceptable, it doesn't work the same muscle groups as running does. Due to he nature of my injury, the Elliptical machine was out. Swimming is a great, all-around exercise, but, again, doesn't mimic running in any way.

The best alternative I found was pool running or aqua jogging. See for yourself here and here. Elites use it as a training tool as rehab AND even when they're not injured! This fast lady is a huge advocate and I found a lot of useful posts on her blog. I read every article I could get my hands on and watched YouTube videos like it was my job. It took me a couple (comical) tries before I mastered the method. I did, eventually, figure out how to do it without the AquaBelt. The Belt really helps maintain proper form, though.

Also...it complements my $19.99 TJMaxx swimsuit like you wouldn't believe!

Another cool fact : Workouts, like todays, make me work up an actual sweat. In the water...dripping in my eyes, frizzing up my hair sort of sweat. Crazy, huh? So, while I may look really silly, "running" back and forth down the length of the pool, this form of running is hard work.

And I love every second of it.  

Have you ever tried deep water aqua jogging?

Which Summer Accessory are you more jealous of : My boot or that belt?







Pushing Back the Dumb

Boot : size SM. Perfect accessory to any Summer attire

Chair : Vintage Thomas the Tank.

Extra Artwork on Seat: Crayola "washable" Marker, by the Littlest

While doing a lot of extra sitting, over the past few weeks. I have had plenty of time to contemplate just how danged Smart I was being, regarding this injury. Each day that passed, without me trying to go for a run, walk or even firmly planting my foot on the stairs, gave me a little extra confidence.

I am a Smart Runner!

Others reinforced this newfound revelation. DailyMile comments ranged from "So proud of you for taking it slow!" to the ever-pleasant "You're an Inspiration!" Even my mom, who feels I am never cautious enough, was totally impressed. Sure, I may've made some not-so-smart decisions to get myself into this situation, but I was more than making up for it with my enviable patience and "smartness".

 

I did have to keep pushing back that one, teensy nagging thought : Pssst! Moron! The only reason you're not sneaking out to run is because it feels like someone is stabbing your anklebone every time you even think of putting weight on it!

I woke up, Friday morning, and didn't have that jolt of agony I'd grown so accustomed to when I stepped out of bed. This was new, encouraging and exciting! After gingerly walking around a bit, sans boot, I determined this really was a "better" feeling ankle day. I decided to continue to take it easy, wean myself off the boot somewhat, and see how things went. The plan was to definitely maybe take a short, slow walk on Monday.

Some troublesome kids and/or a lazy Pool Cleaner Guy made this plan fall into place. So, I, the Smart (Injured) Runner, set out for a Smart Walk. I'd decided to walk a mile or less, depending on how the ankle felt. There was some achiness for about 1 minute. Then it was gone. The sun shone a little brighter, the gnats swarming around my face buzzed a little quieter and my feet were SO happy!

Full disclosure: This double-rainbow shot was captured in my neighborhood...but not during my walk. That'd be cool, though, right?!

My back was almost getting SORE from all the self-patting I was giving it. "Look at you and all your Smart-ness...walking!" "You haven't even tried to run one. single. day, whilst injured." "You are soooo Smart!"

And then it happened. The Dumb started creeping in. I blame my happy feet. They can't help it, really, they're SO far away from my brain. The feet-to-brain communication is probably very fuzzy and, at times, totally non-existent.

"Hey! We should try to run! No, no...just a little, teeny bit!"

"Ok. You know what? If we're going to run, a little, it should be a sprint." "You LOVE to sprint, remember?!"

"Ok. Ok. I see that you're still making us walk. Walking's cool, and all, but how about we just Run Home. That's a simple enough goal : Run Home!" "It'll be rad!!"

And so on...

Turns out, all this time, I wasn't being smart. The Dumb just hadn't had an opportunity to work it's magic.

This long, drawn-out story has a happy ending, though. I pushed back The Dumb, long enough to finish that walk, get myself safely inside and elevate those overly-happy feet. Granted, it ended up being 1.28 miles, rather than "maybe 1 mile", but no one...ever...has accused me of being The Smartest.

Just Smart Enough is okay with me, though.

When does your Dumb creep in?

Ever seen a double rainbow?





 



Tipped-Over Chairs = Happy Feet

Alternate Post Title : The Sandals Made Me Do It (thanks, dad!)

The Cleaner Guy at our community pool and I are tight, these days. (Ignore the fact that I call him Cleaner Guy. You don't need to know someone's name to be tight.) He's generally finishing up his job when I arrive to start my deep water running. (I'll have a whole post on this, soon!!) CG and I make small talk, wish each other well and he runs back to his truck to laugh at how dorky I look. It's a morning routine and it works for us.

So, I, in my $19.99 TJMaxx sensible swimsuit, showed up to see him putting a complicated lock on the gate, this morning. We had a different sort of conversation.

Me : "Um...that doesn't look too promising"
CG: "Nope. We had some sandals in here. Can't let anyone in"

At this point, you're probably as confused as I was. Turns out he actually said "vandals".

CG: "Yep. They broke a light...knocked over a chair. Gonna need to keep everyone out for now."
Me : "Listen, CG, I'll just use the sun, as my source of light, this morning. Also, I wasn't gonna use *that* chair, anyway. How about you just let me sneak on in there?"

My last statement may or may not have only been in my head as CG gave me his usual "poor, weird, lady" wave and walked away.

But, wait! It's okay! Crisis averted. Per this brilliant (and superfast) lady's post I was getting antsy to try a gentle walk, anyway.

Went back home, changed outfits, paused for a moment of silence while I looked at both feet (finally!) clad in running shoes, and fought the urge to skip out the front door.

While the above photo may be a little scary-looking, it conveys the way I felt moving my feet, painlessly, on dry land. Happy Walk, Happy Feet, Happy Morning!

My actual feet, this morning. If  you listen closely, you can hear them cheering!

How was *your* morning?