Self, Get Your Butt Back Out There

I was pretty bummed about my foot and leg yesterday. I moped around all afternoon feeling sorry for myself, jumping to conclusions and eating everything in sight. For a minute, I thought I’d relapsed into my old pre-running self: eat whatever I want, sit on the couch all day watching TV and thinking about who I wish I was.

But then I came to my senses (unfortunately only after one air-popped bowl of popcorn, one mini bag of lime and salt popcorn, a handful of jelly beans, some animal crackers and two old Project Runway episodes). I iced my foot and stretched my arch, and decided I would give myself one day to be “down.” Self, I said, after today, you will get your butt back out there. If you are injured, you can swim and bike. It’ll be good for that triathlon you said you were going to do.

Funny how a change of attitude can improve the day. In the evening, T Junior and I played games, and then had dinner. After no fevers yesterday, and his funny personality resurfacing, I could feel we’d turned a corner with this awful cold he’s had, too. And he ate! In fact, he liked the tuna noodle casserole I made (your basic Betty Crocker recipe) so much, that he leaned over and gave me a kiss mid-meal. He’s had no appetite with this cold and has lost 3 pounds — that’s a lot for a stick-of-a-child to lose.

Before bed last night, I rolled my foot and stretched my toes again while drinking water. Through the day, yesterday, the “pain” I’d felt started to become more sore — almost like what a muscle feels like after you get a cramp.

This morning, I barely felt any soreness in my right arch. I tried to recreate the pain in my shin and I can’t. My right calf is better, but I can just make out a teeny bit of soreness. I think I was dealing with some cramps, people! More and more, I think my issue may have been dehydration. But I’m being smart (well, there’s a change!) and taking another day off of running.

I’m a freaking H2O-aholic today. Great, but I’m getting some strange looks from my co-workers as I rush to the restroom every 30 minutes. I also may have been laughed at while standing in front of the water cooler chugging Nuun.

Tonight, I have plans to will swim, and after re-reading the section on cross-training in Run Less Run Faster, I realize I don’t need to sprint my laps — I can take it easy. Tomorrow, I will run.

Do you ever have conversations with yourself that begin with “Self”? Have you tried lime and salt popcorn? I like it. Mr. T doesn’t. But he likes Spam and eggs, so his taste-level is questionable. How much water am I really supposed to be drinking? As of noon, I’ve had about 50 ounces.