My Takeover, The Break's Over

The doctor was wrong. He was so wrong. I knew he was wrong the moment he told me I would never run again.

Okay, that's a lie. When the words, "You will NEVER run again" came out of his mouth, I bit my tongue (because for some reason, I always think that will keep the tears back... it never works) and tried to mentally tell the redness in my cheeks to go away. After I left the doctor's office that day, I sat in the back of the car, crumpled into a little ball and cried like a drama queen with no audience. I remember wanting to scream and shout and get angry, but at the same time I just wanted to be in silence. Half of me wanted to be held and comforted while the other half wanted to be alone. I was a mess of emotions in a ball on the backseat. THEN I knew he was wrong. So I guess it wasn't immediate. 

But my physical therapist is awesome. He knew what he was doing. Being a competitive runner himself, he told me to listen to my body. For the first time since... ever, I did not push when it hurt. I did not try to run when I knew my foot would not be able to take the force of impact. I waited patiently. When I was given exercises that were dull and seemed like "time-wasters", I did them. 

And guess what? I went on a 10-mile trail run yesterday. My second run since my surgery. Two weeks ago, I did a quick 5-mile run with Nani and yesterday, Nicole joined me for 10. So take that, man who hit me, doctor who said I would never run again and my stupid anterior cruciate tendon! This is proof that hard work, determination, patience and perseverance PAYS OFF.

Watch out, guys! I'm ready to take over because my break is over!

Wildflower 2013 and Update on Tendon

At this moment, I should be checking my stats from the Wildflower race; unfortunately, if I opened up the link to see my total time, I would not be able to find my name on the list. Or maybe it's still on the list with a big DNS (Did Not Start) next to it.

Wildflower was not in the cards this year. It is a huge bummer, but I know that I will make up for it next year.

Good news on Wildflower 2013 though! The pro male and female winners were both from my hometown: Bend, Oregon. Yeah, Bend! Three-peat Jesse Thomas, aka The Aviator,  is pretty well-known in my town, especially now that his Picky Bars are all the rage. He finished the race in 4:02:19. Yeah buddy! So proud of him!

Photo courtesy of Jesse's wife, Lauren

I haven't met Heather Jackson, the female top pro, but she did awesome! She crossed at 4:33:20. Baller. Now I have something to aim for next year!

Photo courtesy of Lauren

Maybe while I'm in Bend working on my rehab, I can get some pointers from them both. Hey, gotta take advantage of being a gimp, right?

In honor of Star Wars Day yesterday (May the 4th be with you), I am attaching a photo of the original Star Wars cast. You're welcome.

And, the moment you've all been waiting for, the update on my surgery! I went to the surgical center Friday where they took off one cast and put another on. It is my 3rd cast in the period of 2 weeks. Each time the cast is a little lighter, but I still am not allowed to put weight on it and I have an order to stay in bed with my foot elevated. So fun. There still is no clarity on if the tendon has completely healed or not because they don't want to stress the tendon too much if it is holding. I will go again mid-June to see if there is progress.

Thank you again for all of your thoughts and gifts and prayers. You all have been so supportive and encouraging. In fact, I'll reward you with a funny visit from my doctor's visit.

I have noticed that using the restroom is not an easy task when you have a task. It's hard enough at home where I have a system, but trying to use a stall in a public restroom? I had my first experience last Friday at the center. Crutching slowly, I pivoted around the bathroom. Flushing was the difficult part because I refuse to use my hand to touch the lever. Balancing on my crutches, I lifted my good foot and used what is left of my abdominal strength to reach the leg out and push the lever. It was pretty impressive. Then I crutched over to the sink. My cell phone was in my bra, but that wasn't the most secure place, as it fell out as I was scrubbing my hands. It slid under the sink and I looked at it quizzically. No one was in the restroom to grab it for me and I couldn't call my Dad for help because... well, I didn't have access to my phone.

"Okay, God," I pleaded. "Please don't let me fall. Please give me strength and balance." I balanced on my left leg and squatted down. I will admit, even when I am at 100% in the peak of my training, one-legged squats still own me, but I did it and was able to get my phone without touching my cast to the floor. "Oh, Shawty, got low," I proudly thought to myself as I stood up and made my way out to the lobby. Wha-bam!