If you recall from this time in 2002, I was announcing my intentions to run the race, and defeat the Bus of Shame. Through a unique strategy of walking and jogging, after only 2 months of running, I finished the sucker in a somewhat-respectable-but-actually-embarrassing 1 hour and 20 minutes. Hey, I was proud at the time.
This year, I decided that I would run the entire thing, and would like to cut my time down to closer to an hour � maybe plus five or ten minutes. But the new goal was to RUN the entire seven miles. No walking!
Then, New Year�s happened, and I fell through a damn dock, nearly breaking my ankle and leg in the process. (Update: Nearly two months after the fall, there�s still a large, deformed-looking lump on my left shin. I�m so sexy.)
About two weeks ago, I was finally healed enough to get back into a regular training schedule. I stopped smoking, pretty much. And the biggest success is that I began running in the mornings, one of the things that set me back last year� all my training had been in the evenings, and the run itself began at 7 a.m� I felt sluggish, to say the least. Regardless, I was on track this year, with a month and a half of training time left before the big event.
Until last night, when I broke my damn toe in Tae Kwon Do. We were practicing back kicks. The ironic thing is, I was practicing spinning LESS than I had been, thereby simplifying the kick and reducing my chances of hurting myself.
Unless, of course, you happen to be me. Meaning, three kicks in, you do the new-and-improved mini-spin, and the rest of your foot turns, but your stupid little left pinky toe stays stuck on the mat, accompanied by a crisp little snapping sound.
It hurts to push off of that toe at all, which is unfortunate, because, you know, that�s what toes are FOR. Leverage and balance.
The injured toe is purple and swollen. It looks like a little stuffed sausage. (Yep, still sexy over here.)
So no running for me, for at least a week and possibly more. Yippee! I�m up to a three-mile distance, but not regularly � that�s pushing it a little. How the hell am I going to add four miles to that in just over a month?
I really don�t think I can. I want to, but I know my limits. So� Are The Powers That Be telling me not to run this race? Is injury-after-injury a sign to skip it this year, and just enter some nice little 5Ks instead?
My sister and I both had the exact same thought: God is injuring me, preventing my from running, because the bridge is going to collapse this year!
I sent my application request today, and will have to decide whether to send the application, with a $30 fee, either this weekend, or early this week?
So what do I do? Do I apply in the face of the injuries, possibly waste 30 bucks, and take the risk of something taking me out the day of the race? Or do I give up, say fuck it, and just do the pussy races this year?
