Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Thursday Thirteen.




1) I don't post personal secrets about friends of mine on my blog.  That is not My. Way. 
I leave it to them to put up their own blogs for that stuff.  So if you're currently in the midst of an acrimonious divorce and are reading my blog to try and find out secrets about your soon-to-be-ex, you're wasting your time.

2) If you think I'm talking to you, I might be. Or I might not be.  I know several people going through a divorce right now. 

3)  Anyway.  I was excited Tuesday to hit the trail on the start of my new 50-miler training program Tuesday.  I was having a pretty good run, too!  I only had to do 2 miles that day, and did a quick mile out and back.  I was about 1/4 mile from the house when I went down.  I mean, I turned my ankle hard.  I'm not sure what happened - if I stepped wrong, or stepped on a rock, or what.  All I know is, it HURT.  Since I'm not used to feeling that kind of pain, it really took me by surprise, too.
So, I'm sitting in the middle of the desert, rocking back and forth and crying, MOTH. ER. F&%$. ER!!! over and over again.  ow.  OW. It takes a lot to make me really yell, and I yelled.  And sobbed.  And yelled some more.  Before this, the last time pain made me yell was when I got too much wasabi paste on my sushi roll.  But I digress. 
So anyway, what was I saying?  Oh yeah.  OWWWWWWW.  the pain finally subsided enough to where I was able to limp back to the house where I promptly stuck my whole foot into the unheated goldfish pond.  I think I expected some sort of relief, like I get when I finish a long run and ice my legs down.  Nope.   MOTH. ER. F&%$. ER!!!  OWWWW. 


4) I was an extremely good patient.  I worked my way through the whole R.I.C.E. protocol.  And took some Diclofenac.  It was a bit swollen, just a bit, and by the end of the day, hardly at all.   The next morning, was happy to see that it felt and looked almost normal.  As a precaution, I taped it for support for the day and did the elevation thing some more.  By the end of the day, I wasn't feeling any pain at all.

5) SO imagine my surprise when I took off my shoe last night and found it hugely swollen with a big bruise.  Normally, I have nice sharp little ankle bone sticking out there.
Okay, I guess it doesn't show up in the photo very well. 

Here's my normal foot for contrast:

Not sure what to think about that big giant bruise.  The foot itself doesn't hurt much, and I've kept it taped for stability.  Meanwhile, I have a cankle.
But just one.

Crap.  guess I'm walking for the next week or so.  No running for me.

6) I"m interviewing for first-year internship sites.  We are encouraged to "step outside the box" and pick one that represents an area in which we need growth.  I've decided to target areas related to law and children/family court. 

So far, the front-runner is CASA.   These folks basically go out with a copy of a court order and investigate every aspect of a foster kids life to make sure s/he is being appropriately taken care of and all his/her needs are addressed.  Then they make a report to the court.  As part of my interview, the director had me sit in on a court case. I'm also hoping to interview with CYFD and legal aid. 

7) I would be supervising CASA volunteers and providing training for them.  If I decide on this.  A major advantage of the CASA internship is the supervisory experience.  I have traditionally avoided things like "leadership" and "responsibility" because remember, I. Am. Lazy.  However, sometimes I find myself thrust into that role when I'm working in groups.  So I figure, why not give responsibility a try?  Maybe I'll like it.  Or not.  But at least this way I'll know.   I feel like ultra running and marathoning and triathloning has made me fearless.  Like my friend Holly used to say, "what's the worst that coule happen?  what are they going to do?  take away your birthday?"

8)  But back to the foot thing.  So, tomorrow, I figure I can go to the podiatrist and get a foot brace and spent $300 or I can get and identical one at WalGreens for about $15.  Hmm.  Decisions, decisions. 

9) Two more large papers due within a week.  Oh wait, three.  Crap.

10)  Still thinking on the 100-miler thing.  I have decided, for practical reasons, that it would be very difficult at this weight to be successful AND have a good time. So, I'll decide at the end of the year whether to do one in 2010, and if so, which one.  So far, I'm looking at Javelina Jundred or Rocky Racoon.

11)  I know what you might be thinking: why a 100 miler? Well, it keeps me honest, that's why.  One can fake their way through a small event with no cutoff, or at least I can, and skip their training.  But there's no skipping the training for the ultra running events.  I have to train, or I'll go down in flames.  There's no faking my way out of this.  I can't think my way out of being untrained, or charm my way out.  I have to do the work.  I'm held accountable to myself.  So, that's why.

12)  My oldest son is coming home for Christmas.  He's 25.  I haven't written about him much.  I've been gathering my thoughts for that.  He's been in the Army since I pulled him out of high school and put him in when he was 17. He's getting out in May and going to college here in Albuquerque.  I'll write more on him soon. 

13.)  Baboo is doing very, very well. He's been out walking every morning.  Between my ankle and his (still) stiff legs, we are probably looking like a  cute, doddering old couple hobbling around the block together.  I imagine people looking and say, AWWWWW. There's so cute!  you think we'll be that cute when we're old?  Awwwwwww.  
...

10 comments:

  1. ankles are stoopit. they're these wee joints at the bottom of our body. they're illogical.

    i listened to george romero on wait wait don't tell me. he never lets his zombies run because their ankles will snap.

    i'll send you my brains to snack on.

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  2. Your ankle looks like mine after I fell in Sept. I got the Dr. version and wore it only twice! I got the Walgreens version (they run big-BTW) and wore it mostly. I had to walk for a week/walk run for 3 weeks. It is still sore after I run/walk...sometimes..

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  3. ONE HUNDRED MILES? There must be unusual sunspot activity out there or something, because the same thought crossed my mind recently.

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  4. Ankles are the worst! I suffered a high ankle sprain in high school and now that ankle twists in a heart beat ...it sucks! I fear running in the fall near trees cause just the smallest piece of crap can make me go down. I hope it heals well.

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  5. I am the queen of the twisted ankle having played soccer for a million years. Stick with the Walmart brace and don't use it too much (not more than a week), you don't want to be dependent on it or your ankle will not get stronger. As soon as you can, start doing some strength exercises for it. Interesting article here in the Times:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/health/28brod.html?_r=1

    The lace up brace they refer to at the end is awesome....I used one to play soccer in for a while and it was great.

    good luck!

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  6. Thank the bruising on gravity...it has nowhere else to go. Expect it for a couple of weeks, even when you are feeling good with no pain...it takes time for it to go away. Stick with the Walmart version, you won't need it that long. An ice bucket 3 times a day will work wonders for you. And don't forget to stretch your achilles a lot because as you are moving more slowly, you ankle isn't getting the full range of motion and your achilles will shrink quickly and then you will have those issues to deal with!

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  7. Bummer about the foot...hope it heals quickly! I'm supposed to be writing a large paper right now too...instead I'm reading blogs :)

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  8. Ouch ! I hope your foot gets better.

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  9. As a more runner-friendly alternative to the Walgreens brace, I recommend this: http://www.zombierunner.com/store/categories/injury_prevention/product1224.html I sprained and re-sprained my stupid ankle 4 times last year, so now I always wear this Pro-tec brace on trail runs. Just don't run on until it stops hurting.

    As for a 100-miler, NOW you're thinking like an ultrarunner! Keep us posted on what you choose.

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  10. Brace + movement + anti-inflammatory + ice + heat + light stretching + ankle protection = less injury in the future and (hopeful) improved healing time.

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