Y-ning

I conveniently have a swollen ankle couple of days before the run.  I don’t know what’s upsetting me more– the pain and inability to walk, or all those days spent running for nothing. Yes, that’s right – FOR NOTHING!

And I’m totally freezing now from trying to keep my ankle on ice for two days AND I have a muscle cramp from trying to keep my leg elevated (obviously, not one of my talents) AND I haven’t seen a person in two days. I am certain I’ve exceeded the number of legally allowable ANDs in a sentence.

I do remember back in February thinking I was crazy for signing up for something like this. And then I remember saying it in caps “I’M CRAZY FOR SIGNING UP FOR THIS”.  

It was so cold back then. I had no gym membership, but I did have a dream. When I say a dream, I don’t mean it in the MLK way, I mean, literarily, I had a dream. I dreamed couple of times I was outside running.

That very first run was awesome (remember, I was dreaming). It was the prettiest day of fall with shuffly leafs on the ground, that intense, bright yellow color I adore. I run like someone was chasing me, like my life depended on it, like I was leaving everything unpleasant behind. It felt so liberating.   

The reality was different. It was 20F outside, with piercing winds. I had 4 layers of clothes on me. But still, I run like someone was chasing me, like my life dependent on it, like I was leaving everything unpleasant behind. For 5 minutes.

So then, gradually, I started running more and more and I started liking it. Kind of. And craving it. Kind of. Especially once it got nice outside.

I tried running with my regular music. Then I tried classical music. Then I tried no music. I finally settled on Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani.

Then I decided I needed new shoes. 7 days before the run. That’s where the story ends. Go ahead, point out that I ‘should have never gotten new shoes so close to the race’, that ‘everyone knows that…’… I heard it all.

My only run in the new shoes was 4 miles long. With 3 under 1 minute breaks. Ankle hurt a bit at around 2nd mile, but I thought I was just getting used to the new shoes. 

Argh....The worse of it all, they were also ugly!


And someone please, GET ME OFF TWITTER!