I Am Not Invincible

This is a picture of my knees.

Lovely , aren't they?

 As lovely as knees can be, I suppose.

And if you're wondering why I've included a picture of my knees in this post, I am now going to tell you.

This may come as a bit of a shock, but I am not invincible.  Likely the person who suffered the most shock from this little nugget of info was ME, but for those of you that are also picking yourselves up off the floor and are recovering from (hee) this surprise, the mortality check I had this week was a bit of a scare with my knees.

It's a bit of a long one and I'd like to keep it short so I'll spare you the long winded version and treat you to the short but sweet version.  Short but sweet....mmm...cupcakes...

Anyhow, while participating in a few group exercise classes (which shall remain nameless) in an attempt to strengthen for the next round of marathon training, I did exercises that I knew I shouldn't be doing.  Every ounce of my trainer brain said bad, bad, very bad idea, but I did the exercises anyways.  Subsequently, I awoke Monday morning to a slightly swollen knee.

And then I freaked out.  Big time.  BIG time.  If you want the full details, I suggest you contact my dear friend Wendy as she was a first hand witness.  Not pretty.  Mainly because all I could think about was the possibility that I may never run a marathon again.  And to be honest, this caused me a great deal of distress.

So, knees...

I know I am so very hard on you.  I ask you to run miles and miles and miles.  I ask you to run up and down hills several times.  I show up for my speed interval workouts and I pound extra hard on the pavement in an attempt to run faster.  I put you through squats and lunges in millions of different varieties, but at the end of the day they are still squats and lunges and I know these are tough on you after a while.  And after all of that work, I often neglect you and by skipping the stretching and the foam roller work.

Knees, I promise from this point on, I will mend my ways!  I know now that I am not invincible and since I'm just slightly past my teenage years, I need to treat you with the kindness, love and respect you deserve.  Rest assured (I know you are all waiting with bated breath), I am not injured, but had some minor irritation around my patella as a result of low back, glut and quad tightness.  One quick trip to Marda Loop Sport Physio and the PT there has assured me that I will be up and running (pardon the pun) in no time.  Relief. 

Sadly, though, I am unable to race in the K100 this weekend and feel very badly for letting my team down.  I am hoping that this doesn't mean that I've been permanently cut, as Mugs, Jugs and Rugs was a mighty fine group of runners to be associated with.  I hope they know that I am with them in spirit every step of the 100 miles in Kananaskis this weekend. 

And...last but most definitely not least, I am almost on holidays.  Almost.  If you are in Kenora this summer and was to run, just let me know.  I'll likely come with you.  Because my knee will be healed by then...100% healed, and I cannot WAIT to go running.

Correction

Picture in the post below is a sea lion, NOT a walrus as I had originally blogged.

Note: I will stick to teaching Barry the baby about things I know about...like running.

And on another note:  Walruses have way more whiskers and long tusks.

Can a Sea Lion Run?

I asked my younger pregnant sister to email me a picture of her being pregnant.

And this is what she sent me:

And while I did have a very, very long laugh out loud in my office, I just want her to know this:

SHE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A SEA LION. 

In fact, she is the cutest little pregnant lady around AND she is a total rockstar.

Why?

Because when she came to visit me, despite being pregnant, despite feeling like a sea lion, despite feeling like her body is not her own, she STILL went running with me.  Amazing.  7 months pregnant and running.  Barry, you are one lucky little dude to be getting my sister for a mom.

In her honour, I just wanted to give a shout out all the expectant moms and moms in the world who, despite feeling like sea lions and feeling a level of exhaustion that I can only imagine, still manage to commit to their own physical, mental and spiritual health by heading out for a quick run or some other kind of exercise. Each and every one of you is wonderful and I am truly humbled by your efforts.

And although I have no scientific information to prove this, I'm pretty sure a sea lion can't run. The short legs and long body are a curse for sure, but NO legs and long body??? Impossible...