RuNfEsSiOnS for August

It's hard to believe summer is winding down, and I'm finding myself at a bit of a crossroads.

I was pretty much denied a real summer (and would like the summer temps to return so I can enjoy them a bit longer). That said, I'm also eager to move forward and enter a new season...a season of renewal, if you will.  As you know, my world was turned upside-down on June 29th (full details HERE) and a new "friend" entered my life. I named this friend Voldemort, and on Thursday, Aug. 24th, we celebrated our 8-week anniversary. 8 weeks!


Anyways, I have been able to keep a (somewhat) positive attitude, but there are a few Runfessions I feel obligated to share. Truth in blogging. Transparency. Coming clean. Keeping it real. Call it what you will, I have a few things to tell you about my current reality.

First of all, I have been walking a lot.  Believe it or not, I have walked almost 200 miles since July 17th. Trust me, if I had not had that emergency surgery and was able to run (instead of "just walking"), I would not even come close to having that kind of mileage over the course of  six weeks. I honestly had the best of intentions....starting out with very conservative early morning walks of 1-1.5 miles, then adding evening walks, and lunch hour walks. Gradually, I increased the morning walks to 2-3 miles, and increased the evening walks as well.  It wasn't until I passed the 40-mile mark, for a recent week's mileage, that I realized maybe I was walking too much. My entire body was feeling tired, and the recovering suture site (a result of the surgery) was still not 100 percent healed. Runfession #1-all that walking felt good and it kept me physically active (and emotionally giddy), but just because I could do it didn't necessarily mean I should have.

just a walkin'

Secondly, this has been a whole new ball game for me. I have never had a 6-inch scar before, let alone a scar in a high-maintenance place (hello? the knee is a body part that is almost always in constant motion, which puts a lot of strain on a new suture seam). Also, there has been a tiny spot on the suture seam that has not completely closed yet. Bursa fluid has continued to drain from this opening. Thankfully, the opening has continued to shrink in size, and is currently the size of a tiny pin head (and, as of Thursday, the drainage appears to have halted). Runfession #2-although this whole recovery experience has been a great test of my patience, I am ready for it to be over and done, end of story.

It's just me and Voldemort....

Thirdly, the total solar eclipse experience was a fabulous distraction! We road-tripped to Grand Island, NE so we could witness the total coverage in its entirety. Unfortunately, this made for a 20-hour day, beginning with a 3:30 a.m. wake-up and a 4:00 a.m. departure from our house in central Iowa, and not returning until nearly 10:00 p.m. The crazy thing was that the return trip took almost twice as long as getting there because the traffic was so insane. But seeing the sun completely covered in the middle of the day, feeling the temps dramatically drop, and experiencing the eery (almost) apocalyptic-ness of it was so so so amazing. Runfession #3- for those 3+ hours of astronomy, it was nice to be preoccupied with something other than my relationship with Voldemort.

The eclipse was sooo cool!

Next, there's the issue with my toe nails. Ugh. For the most part, my feet look pretty decent considering I'm a runner. When all of this surgery stuff went down and I was told that I wouldn't be running for at least a couple months, a part of  me was actually hopeful that my dear old toe nails would (at long last) be given a chance to rejuvenate, refresh, and regrow. Well, guess what? Runfession #4- my toenails do not look any better despite their 2+ month sabbatical from the sport that I love so much. What's up with that???

Don't be fooled by the polish....

And, last of all, I am hopeful for what the fall season will have in store for me. I had another follow-up appointment with my surgeon on Thursday, and he was very encouraging as to how my recovery is progressing. As mentioned, it appears the drainage has (hopefully) halted. He aspirated some of the fluid from the bursa surrounding my knee (which had been slightly swollen), and he thought it looked good but was having it sent to a lab to monitor the culture levels (to ensure there is no impending infection in the works). We should have the results back early next week, and if all looks good, I may be cleared to (slowly) ease back into running! The timing is nearly perfect because--Runfession #5- there are a couple of events I'd like to do (a 5K in late September and a 5K/5-miler combo in October), and both events don't have price increases until well after the lab results come back...in other words, I don't have to commit to them until I have a better idea of my training schedule.

Hoping for some fall racing!

So, there you have it...a few Runfessions that have been tossing and turning in  my head.

What would YOU runfess? Training woes? Injuries? Eclipse viewing? Icky toes?

I'm linking up with Marcia for the monthly Runfessions....do you have anything to runfess?

I'm also linking this with Meranda and Lacey and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0. Please join us!!