85: Cold Turkey

As I sit to write this I have my right foot resting on top of a giant frozen turkey, with a bag of frozen peaches draped over the top. Bored of regular ice bags that drip, I'm trying to get creative and use other frozen things at my disposal. Plus, the turkey is nice and round, and smooth, so it's pleasant to position my foot on.

I've had this turkey since Thanksgiving. I got it free for having purchased over $100 worth of beer at the local grocery store when I was having a party, and never got around to roasting it. Now I've sworn off eating dead feathered creatures; so I figured, if the bird has had to die in vain, the least I can do is use it for something important like the treatment of my bum foot.

Anyway, I've been dutifully icing every few hours for 20 minutes at a time, exactly as I was told to. I've built up a tolerance to it so it doesn't really burn any more. I could probably even go 30-40 minutes without feeling uncomfortable. I'm a pro at this rehab thing. I'm wearing my compression bandage. I'm out of heels. You'd think I might be on the mend; but, no.

This afternoon, I was walking down the sidewalk and, out of nowhere, my foot got a sharp pain in its usual place. So disappointing. It came on for no reason. I was simply walking gently, in a straight line, on a flat surface, in sneakers with a wide toe-box and an extra line of cushioning, and bam - shooting pain that escalated.

I'll continue to ice, and be careful, and I will not run, though I find myself thinking about running several times a day. I even went up to the New York Road Runners today to pick up my bib for the Bronx Half Marathon, which I will not be running on Sunday. I know this will sound terribly sentimental, but I couldn't bear the thought of just leaving my bib behind to be thrown out. That's my unique number that was assigned to me! I'd really been looking forward to this half marathon, seeing parts of the Bronx I've never been to, and testing my fitness level verus May.

This journey is not going as I might have hoped at the moment. I always said, my #1 priority was avoiding injury. But, on the bright side, I am still writing, and still learning new things about myself and the world. I mean, 9 months ago, I never imagined I'd feel so sentimental about a race bib, or be spending a Friday night at home icing my foot with this turkey! Alright - that's all for now. I gotta go pop this thawing bird back into the freezer before it makes a poultry puddle on my wooden floor.