Clarice, coaching, and a new goal

Well, today sucked. The injury I’ve been trying to ignore since July 2016 finally caught up with me, and I’m in a boot for six weeks. 

I gave myself today to piss and moan about it. Trying to make light of the situation, I named my boot Clarice. And when I talk about it you can bet that I will use the Anthony Hopkins accent from “Silence of the Lambs.”

Thankfully, I was forced out of my bad mood this afternoon. Today was the first day of my first coaching role with Girls on the Run. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time and still continue to look forward to having a great time with the girls this season, albeit in a more hobbled fashion. 

The funny thing is that my ankle had actually been feeling better when I decided to go to the doctor. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t broken to prevent further injury. I even ran six miles over the weekend! What I found out instead was that I had a severe tear in one of the ligaments and the peroneal tendon. 

So the boot will hopefully mitigate surgery. If not, I guess I’ll have my second surgery of my life a year after my first one (wisdom teeth)!

I’m going to have to cancel a half marathon for the first time since I’ve been a runner. My hope is to be able to run the Girls on the Run 5K in May with my daughter. Even if I have to have surgery, I should still be able to run two RAGNAR relays this year. I hope.

Being partially laid up has forced me to reevaluate my fitness goals. One thing I’ve learned about myself as I have to stay active or I will start to feel sad. And I want to be happy. 

For the next six weeks, it’s going to be sun’s out, guns out. Time to start lifting! I’ve always said that happiness is a choice. Now’s the time to prove it to myself.