19 Miles, 364 Days Later

I finally found a use for the Facebook timeline! I was able to look up which day last August I injured myself while on a planned 19-mile run. It was August 30, which is 364 days ago. Today, I again headed out for a 19-mile run, since I am training for the same marathon, and fought the same near-injury as last year, but in the other foot. And, I succeeded this time! I didn't have to call Neil for Aleve at mile 7 and I didn't have to call Neil at mile 9 and ask him to pick me up. Instead, I called Neil at mile 10.5 and told him that I was playing it safe. I was on Plum Island. I stopped at a convenience store for a Gatorade and asked for a cup of ice, went outside, stripped down the right foot and applied the ice - hoping to stave off any impending injury. It worked. 

 Moreover, the owners of the convenience store were quite the team. A man nearing 80 rang up my purchase for Gatorade. He said, without batting an eye, "That will be $18.61." His son turned to me and said, "Don't believe anything he says. He's been drinking since Tuesday." They were good for a laugh and were very encouraging of my long run. I had also received a call from Kathy around mile 10. A reliable emailer, Kathy usually never calls me. I figured it was an emergency and called her while icing my foot. Turns out that the future service pups that we have been following on a live webcam were getting a bath and they were super cute. I was missing it because I was out on my long run! Crisis, indeed!
My 19-mile route.
 It was a beautiful day for a run - mid-70s, sunny, and the Merrimack River was splendid -bright and full. I ran from my house to Plum Island in Newbury -- 9.5 miles out and turned around and came back. I had fantastic energy and actually enjoyed myself, which doesn't always happen on the really long training runs. I even tried my first GU. My friend, Colleen -- a distance runner herself, insisted that I take one of her chocolate GUs yesterday. She said that it tastes just like chocolate frosting. Truer words were never said! Neil will never have to bring me a Snickers bar mid-marathon again! He can stay home, torture himself in the practice studio, make reeds, and fret about my safety out on the course! (Just kidding. I love having Neil at the finish line!) Thank you, Colleen!
The magic of GU - a calorie-packed snack for the trail!

 How lucky am I to be able to run, to be able to run 19 miles, and to do it among such beauty? The academic year is calling, but I still have a marathon to run in 4 weeks!
Around mile 13, at Joppa Park in Newburyport.

The mighty Merrimack along Joppa Park, Newburyport.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who Would Scam an Oboe Teacher?

Image
Apparently someone named William Clark, or someone who uses the name William Clark and whose email address is: wclark200@yahoo.com . Last week Neil mentioned to me that he had received an unusual request from "William Clark," for oboe lessons for his 13 year old daughter, Mary. He stated that they were out of the country, but would soon be coming to the United States. Mr. Clark failed to answer any of Neil's usual questions for new students, such as how long Mary had been playing, inquires about her instrument, and whether they would be taking lessons at USM or Dartmouth - the locations of his two teaching studios. Neil usually asks if the child has, in addition to playing oboe, any other tendencies toward self-injurious behavior. Silent on all of these matters.  Then Mr. Clark wanted to pay for several weeks of lessons upfront. Neil had never encountered this before, but why would a free-lance musician say no to a parent wanting to pay for lessons in advance? Then N
Read more

What Happens When a Stress Fracture Won't Heal?

Image
That's right. I have at least two stress fractures that won't heal. I've had one for about 15 weeks and a second for at least 18 months. When a fractured bone won't heal, it's called a non-union fracture . I get quite a kick out of this. Makes me think of my bones slaving away in a sweatshop or something! What do we do to try to get non-union bones to heal? First, health providers put you in a surgical boot. Say good-bye to the surgical shoe. It's all about the boot now. My boot looks just like this one. I don't really want to know how long I have to wear it. Despite it being clunky and a miserable fashion statement, it is much better than the surgical shoe -- in terms of walking. It also seems nearly impossible to re-injure oneself in this contraption! Driving a standard is definitely a no-no. Photo from Ortho Tape Second, we get a bone stimulator. I know, who knew there was such a thing?  Apparently before the days of bone stimulation, there was su
Read more

Limping All the Way to Five

Our first black Labrador Retriever, Blackberry, had health problems. He started having seizures between 6-9 months of age. We discovered that he had epilepsy and successfully treated his condition with  phenobarbital  for 9 years. The bad news is that it slowly destroyed his liver. We made that trade-off because alternative medications were much more expensive. So, we lost Blackberry when he was 9. I still think it was the right decision. Blackberry lived a happy life. He was the center of our family and even part of the community. Everyone seemed to know him. Neil was once exercising Blackberry in the Saco River in Biddeford and a school-aged girl with a fishing rod passed by them and commented to her father, "That dog's name is Blackberry." Neil had never seen that child in his life or since. When the UPS man would arrive at our house, he would hand us a package and look in through the door, saying, "Hi, Blackberry!"  Despite this condition, he had a pretty
Read more