On Injury

It’s my own fault. I jinxed myself by mentioning how good I felt a few weeks ago, despite the incredibly high mileage I was putting up. I said the words, “I haven’t gotten injured…” and, of course, THE VERY NEXT DAY, I realized I had tweaked something.

I spent the first week thinking it was my calf. I reeled mileage in, slowed down, took some rest. I stretched more, prayed to the injury gods, and tried to will it away. And it worked! 4 days later, I managed to put up a few speedy miles that felt normal and quick. But the next morning, it was sore again. I pushed for another couple days, telling myself I would fully reevaluate on Sunday. By Sunday morning, there was no reevaluating needed, cause I couldn’t walk or put pressure on my right leg.

I couldn’t walk on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, either. Every step felt stabby. My walking pace was “fall behind.”

I had never heard of the peroneal tendon (aka fibularis tendon) but after an evaluation, I found out that’s what I jacked up. Peroneus Longus. I have stretches and doctors orders of no running, which SUCKS. To be honest though, the amount of pain from walking eliminated any stubborn thought about trying to run anyway.

So here I am, on my 10th day of not running. I was fine for the first week and I’ve been able to distract myself a bit with yoga and 3-point (not using my right leg) climbing, but now my ability to keep my brain occupied is waning. I miss the exploring and the fresh air and the process. I miss working hard, I miss pushing myself up a hill. I miss sweating and being fully exhausted. I miss my lungs working hard.

BUT for the first time in a long time, the desperation to run I feel is a little different than it used to be. On one hand, I’ll probably be able to put up some short slogs soon. On the other, I want to get out there and feel GREAT. I want this to be gone for good. So I guess I’ll just wait.

I think this is what they call patience and I’m okay with it.

Honestly, just saying these words makes me feel better so this piece is probably for me more than anyone who might read it.