Accountability -- Day 16

Q: What did the fish say when it ran into a wall? A: Dam! 

That's kind of how I feel today. My "damn" came at 5:15 am when I had to get out of bed because both my hips were so painful that I couldn't sleep lying on either side. My comment yesterday that I was a bit stiff from Sunday turned out to be an understatement. I'm not super alarmed yet--still confident I can run in the GG Relay on April 30--but am alarmed enough to ratchet down my running for a few days. I already feel less sore now than I did 12 hours ago and am pretty sure I will be able to run gently by Thursday or Friday.

In the spirit of accountability, let me describe my day up to this point.

What I did: Started the daily Sudoku in the newspaper. (I often read the "paper" online, but find that marking my Sudoku answers on actual paper is a lot less messy that doing it on my computer screen.) 

Other activities: Watched a bird eat seed I'd scattered on the deck rail, and smiled sympathetically at Danny Mo the  clawless, toothless cat as he dreamed tiger dreams of taking that bird DOWN. Gazed longingly at the swimming pool, which is too chilly to get in as yet. Watched two previously recorded episodes of Jeopardy and was sure I could defeat all the champion wannabe's I saw.

Where and when I did these things: All around the house and for most of the day.

How it felt: Strange. I did get out and do some errands, including a trip to take some 20-year-old clothes to Goodwill. Spent more time in the car during this day than I generally do in a week. At one point I speculated about whether this is what my life will be like when I get too old and frail to run. I don't know when that will be, but I do know it is inevitable--I've been in this life quite a while, and, paradoxically, the more I stay around, the more real it is to me that no matter how long some people may live, no one--not even me!--gets out alive.

My whimsical moment of contemplating my eventual decline into a vegetative state didn't last long. For I know that if you are addicted to being in motion, when you can't run, you walk. When you can't walk, you swim. When you can't swim, you prop yourself up on a stationary bike and pedal away. When you can't prop or be propped, you flop in bed and watch Jeopardy reruns until, mercifully, you die of boredom.


Photos: Because I haven't moved much (it's almost 5 pm and I'm only at 4,529 steps on my fitness tracker), you'd think I'd have taken more pictures. Hey, even my snapshot finger ached today. 

Keep on running!

Ps. I went into my blog settings today to see why people's comments haven't been visible during my accountability challenge. I poked around and did get one to appear, but only one. I know there have been more comments because I can see them on my Blogger dashboard. The one that did show up had been posted as "Anonymous," so I'm thinking if you select "Anonymous" in the drop-down menu that might work. If you want to be identified, just put your name somewhere in the comment box. Or you can comment on Facebook if you'd like. I love feedback!








Comments

BoomerNV said…
Here's my feedback and you may not know it, but you semi-quoted one of the Nevada Clan's favorite television shows. Sorry you're a little worn. When is your next race (signed up for)?
5:47 PM
Elaine Merrill said…
I've heard you say it--almost credited you. Hey--your comment showed up!!
5:51 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trying to Make Lemonade

Image
What am I meant to learn from the challenges being thrown at me these days? That I am strong. That I am loved. That life goes on and can be good. My favorite nephew congratulated me for making lemonade when I'd been handed lemons--not sure his belief about me is justified, but I deeply appreciate the notion. Plus, I have an actual lemon tree in front of the house, so I've been practicing my tangy-beverage making. My ribs have healed up well. I'd say I'm at about 95%. I'm glad my minor medical matter is clearing up so I can turn my energy to a more major one: Z is scheduled for big-time surgery on March 31. He is calm; I am calm. Aaaaaaack! Oops, I meant of course I'm serene. The procedure he faces, which involves patching up some crucial circulatory parts, is a common one, and the success rate is high. But still. Send good vibes our way, if you'd be so kind. In other matters, I did run 10 miles Saturday. The run itself went well--I went down to the Bay Trai...
Read more

That Z Man

Image
Yesterday was Z's birthday, and I was thinking about how the story of us is at its heart a running story. About eleven and a half years ago, I was working the registration table at my running club's Fourth Sunday Run , and a guy came up to the table to register for the race. I asked him if he was a club member, and he said "No, but I'm going to change that right now," so I gave him a membership form to fill out. What happened after that is a story that has often been mis-told by others, but I'm here to give you the correct version--after all, I was there. I was running the 10K that week. The race started, and it wasn't long (maybe half a mile?) before I noticed that up ahead of me two of the club's most talented and winsome older women runners were schlepping along with the new guy (who was stylishly attired in purple sweatpants), chatting up a storm. "Those two," I thought. They always talk to the cutest guys." I ran along behind them f...
Read more

Dog-Day Running

Image
Still getting out frequently and doing the old left-right, although the experience has changed a bit over the years. Sometimes I still go back to the Bay Area and run-walk with my running peeps, but most days you'll find me run-walking in my West Sacramento neighborhood with a small black buddy. We're not the speediest pair, but we have our fun! This morning, before the heat set in, Charlie and I covered 1.42 miles. Woo hoo! I'm pushing her gradually to get up to two miles per outing. I'm ashamed to tell you that I love talking doggie baby talk with little Charlie--after all, she only weight 11 pounds, which is kind of baby-sized, right? If it takes talking about "walkies" and "sniffies" with her to give me incentive to get out the door, I'm in. Sometimes I sing little songs to Charlie when nobody else is around. Like the old favorite,  D-d-d doggie, beautiful doggie, you're the only d-d-dogie I adore; When the m- moon shines over the cowshed...
Read more