There have been a lot of things going on this week, but running isn’t one of them. My ankle is happier that it was, but not happy enough to run. I tested the waters this morning and was able to run an entire 3 tenths of a mile. You read that right. I stopped because there was pain and discomfort and I knew that pushing it would only lead to a longer hiatus from running. So I put on my big girl panties, turned around and walked back to my car. I made an appointment with my myofascia guy before the keys were in the ignition and accepted the fact that I won’t be running Too Hot To Handle 15K this weekend.
Old, Crazy Jen would have had a very difficult time dealing with all of this. Honestly, I am bummed. I don’t want to sit out (especially during the summer!!), but I’ve learned a lot in the last year. One of the most important lessons has been to address issues as soon as they crop up to avoid time off later. I could give lip service to that but that wouldn’t be entirely true. I have known for several weeks that my calves were mad. I didn’t address it as aggressively as I should have and now I’m paying the price. Still, I think I am better off than I was and I’ll be an even more mature runner on the other side of this speed bump, so I’m trying to take it all in stride. Pun intended.
My Doxie, Sophie, has been doing everything in her power to keep my mind off not being able to run, meaning: she burst out of the house (because the storm door wasn’t latched properly) to chase a skunk out of our yard on Monday evening. You can imagine the result of that. So far, Skunk 2: Sophie 0. These skunk altercations are beginning to happen every summer and I would quite prefer to avoid them altogether.
However, I learned some important lessons this time around.
- The magical solution is: hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and Dawn dish soap. It seriously worked.
- DO NOT let the dog in the house until: you have changed clothes and prepared the solution. (In my shock, I let her in the house and she rolled ALL OVER the couches.)
- The magical solution minus Dawn works well in a spray bottle on the furniture to remove odor (but do not leave spray bottle capped or it will bubble out!).
- The magical solution can be used to mop the floor.
- The magical solution does not get the smell out of the air in the house, but bowls of vinegar placed around the room definitely will.
I was able to meet my partners in crazy (@anotherhalfpls and @daralem) for a Girls’ Night Out last evening and had this lovely drink. I have NO idea what it was called but it was tropical and fruity, so it met almost all of the qualifications! (If ONLY there had been rum!) We had to cut our evening short, though, so we could all be back home for #BibChat (see following paragraph).
And possibly the most exciting news of all: I WON A PAIR OF SHOES!!! I have recently started participating in #BibChat, which is a weekly question and answer session where runners interact with each other (as if we need a reason to interact!). #BibChat is hosted by @BibRave. BibRave is a place where you can write a review of a race, or find reviews of races you are considering. Last night, @MizunoRunning was our gracious sponsor and participants were eligible to be picked to win a pair of Enigma 5s. I was so excited to win, because I LOVE Mizuno shoes for everything from running to volleyball to softball! Be watching for my blog review after I get the shoes – although I’m sure I’m going to LOVE them!!
See?? Things aren’t that bad, even though I’ve been sidelined for a few days. You just have to find the silver lining!
Hope your Hump Day was a happy one!
Jen
Dirt LeJENd 