Well damn it!

After an easy, pain-free four mile run on Tuesday, I took a day off on Wednesday just to be extra cautious, even though I felt zero pain on Tuesday. This morning I ran five miles. Again with zero pain. I was feeling good and thinking I was on the mend.

But then I came home and took my shoes off.

The dark purple bruising on the side of my shin and foot is new. My foot hurts now, too.

I’m trying to convince myself that it’s just from my ankle brace digging in, but I’m afraid it may be a stress fracture (or two).

Let’s just hope it’s not a Jones fracture. Avulsion fractures are more common with ankle rolls and much less serious. But of course I think it’s a Jones fracture.

Google is not my friend.

I have an appointment with Dr. Wilder Wednesday morning.

The fourth decade

Not my favorite so far

I’m falling apart. Both of my knees are scraped up from my two recent falls, there is still a gaping hole in my thigh where my mole was removed (I happened to really like that mole too) and now I haven’t been able to run for a week.

And what a week it’s been. I started my period which has become super extra fun in the last three years. My patience drops to about zero and I get 24 hours of bleeding so heavily that I can’t be away from a bathroom for more than an hour and I have to sleep on a towel. Fun stuff. That coupled with not being able to run (which generally helps with the zero patience part) plus still being ridiculously sad about Molly has made for a rough week.

But this morning I went for a run. It was short and I wore an ankle brace. But I worked up a soul cleansing, mood enhancing sweat and I feel like a human gain.

Life isn’t always long runs in the mountains, swimming holes and immortal rainbow unicorn kittens.

But running sure helps me get through the rest of it.

 

 

Again?!😣

I’m really not happy about this. 😡

Seen on the run (August 4, 2019)

Riprap parking to Loft mountain (without taking the shortcut through the campground that we took last time)

21.42 miles

I was on my own for this one.

Brian ran the JIM yesterday. I cheered him on. It looked miserable. And kind of fun. Maybe I’ll join him next year.

The first half of my run was really quiet. I only saw one other person in the first 9 miles.

It was humid. In less than an hour I was drenched with sweat.

 The very nice lady who works at the Loft mountain camp store remembered me. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that both times I’ve been in there I’ve been dripping wet.

I scared a bunny.

Okay, maybe it was the other way around.

I also heard a bear crashing through the woods. I saw the brush move, but didn’t actually see the bear. It was moving away from me.

The last 6 miles were tough. It was getting late (I didn’t finish until almost 1:30) and hot. I spent some time wondering if I was suffering from heat exhaustion or just plain old exhaustion. The difference is a little more worrisome when you’re out there by yourself. I decided it was run-of-the-mill tiredness and I was probably right because I finished without any medical emergencies.

There was definitely some walking, though.

I’m trying to avoid routes with swimming holes because I had a mole removed from my leg for biopsy. It was benign but it left a gaping hole in my leg. My dermatologist wasn’t too keen on me swimming in mountain streams. It’s been three weeks now though and I don’t think I can take it much longer. A plunge at the end of this run would have felt amazing. If it’s hot next weekend I’m hitting up a swimming hole.

I had a few gnats on my legs when I finished.

That wouldn’t have been the case if there had been a swimming hole to clean off in.

Seen on the run (July 28, 2019)

A long run with  my sister and Brian along the Cape Cod Canal to Sagamore beach to see the house where my grandparents lived.

I’m used to doing long runs on trails in the mountains. Running mostly on pavement and exposed to the sun posed a different set of challenges.

We missed the spot we had planned to turn off the canal path in Sagamore but it ended up being a happy mistake because we got to run through Scusset beach campground which took us right to the beach and had bathrooms where we refilled our water.

I was really happy to see my grandparent’s house looking so nice.  The deck has been enclosed but other than that it looked just like I remembered it.

We finished the run at Starbucks. I was dripping with sweat (not an exaggeration) but Jen and Brian were only slightly damp so they went in and got our iced coffee.

13.7 miles according to my Garmin. Jen and Brian’s both said 14.

 

Seen on the run (July 27, 2019)

Brian didn’t want to walk while we waited for his Garmin to find satellite.

Instead, he chose to sit.

I got to jump in the bay instead of a swimming hole after the run. Saltier and not as cold. But just as wonderful.

Seen on the run (July 26, 2019)

A short run around Onset, Massachusetts. Where my grandparents lived and where I spent many summer days and most every Sunday when I was kid.

Feeling pretty nostalgic.