Some days just don\u2019t seem to go according to plan.\u00a0 Saturday was one of them.\u00a0 I had a great day planned.\u00a0 The boys\u2019 basketball games in the morning, meeting friends at Hidden Valley ski resort at noon to learn how to snowboard, church and closing out the day at Luke Hoffman\u2019s annual ice skating fundraiser for St. Baldrick\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The day started off fine.\u00a0 I got up, put my hair in braids, made some coffee and met Mike and the kids over at school for an 8:30 basketball game.\u00a0 Since Ethan also had baseball practice on Saturday morning, Mike and I had arranged to divide and conquer.\u00a0 I stayed at the school at watched Silas\u2019 game with Ally, while Mike took Ethan to the JCC for batting practice.\u00a0 When the game was over, we still had some time to kill, so I took the kids back to my house for a bit.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t realize until we pulled back up to the school that Silas had jumped in the car without his coat.\u00a0 He was only wearing his basketball uniform.\u00a0 And it was 18 degrees out.\u00a0 Parenting fail.\u00a0 So, I threw an extra sweatshirt of mine around him to get him into the school and offered to drop his coat off at Mike\u2019s house later.\u00a0 Disaster averted.\u00a0 But still, Strike 1.<\/p>\n
Ethan played his heart out for the next hour.\u00a0 Even though he didn\u2019t score as much as he has in previous games, he is still a joy to watch.\u00a0 He had one play where he drove down to the basket and passed it off to his teammate Adam who threw it up for 2.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not forget that the assist is just as important as the shot itself.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about teamwork.\u00a0 Well done, boys!<\/p>\n
After the game, I came out of the school (where I get absolutely no service to my phone) to find a message from Emily.\u00a0 We were supposed to meet at Hidden Valley at noon, but she was still hadn\u2019t heard from the boys who were running 16 at Forest Park that morning.\u00a0 I took my time heading to the ski resort since I knew we were already dealing with \u201cNick time\u201d but contemplating that the icy running conditions may have slowed them down even more.\u00a0 So, I stopped and filled the car up with gas.\u00a0 While I was there I decided to run in and use the little girl\u2019s room.\u00a0 I walked out to find it was my secret girl crush, Amy Marxkors, who had been trying to break in on me.\u00a0 We stood in PetroMart cracking up at the apropos absurdity of our chance meeting.\u00a0 I\u2019ve said it before, if we try to plan a get together we can\u2019t make it happen, but of course we would find each other at a gas station bathroom.\u00a0 Especially since I knew I would see her that night at Luke\u2019s event in Shaw Park.\u00a0 We parted ways, but before we did, I had to ask, \u201cHow far are you going?\u201d\u00a0 I felt a pang of jealousy as she responded, \u201cSixteen\u201d.\u00a0 Only another injured runner understands how I could possibly be jealous of someone running 16 miles in 18 degrees.\u00a0 Seriously, is EVERYONE I know training for a spring marathon right now?\u00a0 Well, I thought, its ok, my hamstring seems to be getting better.\u00a0 I still have a shot at 26.2 this spring\u2026<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Emily had located Nick and Steve so we made our way to Hidden Valley.\u00a0 I was the first to arrive, so I went up to the lodge to check things out.\u00a0 I arrived to find a sign stating\u2026We are out of rental snow board boots sizes: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13.\u00a0 Ugh.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019ll ski?\u00a0 And the sign continued\u2026We are also out of Helmets medium and large.\u00a0 No worries, I have a tiny head, a small is fine.\u00a0 Do they have youth?\u00a0 That would work too.\u00a0 The sign\u2026And we\u2019re out of ski poles.\u00a0 Sigh\u2026Strike 2.<\/p>\n
I pulled out my phone to text everyone this new information and saw that Steve had just parked.\u00a0 Steve and I waited in the cold until Nick and Emily arrived and we could discuss.\u00a0 I had already warned Dan off since he was coming the farthest.\u00a0 Serena had bailed due to an ankle injury and we couldn\u2019t find Jen, who we learned later had made her way on to the slopes to ski without us.\u00a0 Good thing she didn\u2019t wait around.\u00a0 So, back to the drawing board.\u00a0 I was ready to do something.\u00a0 I needed some physical activity.\u00a0 Everyone else had already run\u202642 miles between the 3 of them.\u00a0 My jealousy reared its ugly head.\u00a0 Then Emily suggested bowling.\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 Bowling!\u00a0 I jumped up and down in the snowy, gravel parking lot at her suggestion.<\/p>\n
Our caravan set off down Manchester toward West County Lanes.\u00a0 Ok, so it wasn\u2019t the intense cardio of running or the challenge of learning to snowboard, but it was something.\u00a0 And at least I was still going to put the hockey skates to good use later.\u00a0 We were salvaging the day.\u00a0 We paid for 2 games, got our shoes and Steve filled in the computerized score monitor with nicknames for all us.\u00a0 The order was Emily Pink, Lindsey Goat, Pirate Nick and Vancouver Steve.\u00a0 How I got shafted with the goat name since it was Nick who started that whole thing with his inability to read \u201cCOAT ROOM\u201d at the Racine Marriott, I\u2019m still not really sure.\u00a0 Anyway, Emily gathered all the sparkly and pink swirly bowling balls and we got underway.\u00a0 My first frame I snagged a spare.\u00a0 Oh yeah, it\u2019s on!\u00a0 Yes, I\u2019m even competitive at things I suck at, like bowling.\u00a0 My second frame, I got up, grabbed a ball, started toward the lane and just as I released the ball I almost fell to ground in pain as the ball went straight into the gutter.\u00a0 The hamstring!\u00a0 Oh, No!\u00a0 What have I done?!\u00a0 I limped back, grabbed the ball again.\u00a0 It\u2019s ok, I\u2019ll just go slow\u2026?\u00a0 Another gutter ball.\u00a0 It was bad.\u00a0 I sat down in pain feeling dejected. \u00a0Had I really just re-injured myself while I was BOWLING?!\u00a0 Of all the lame ways to keep myself out of the running game.\u00a0 And so much for skating later.\u00a0 Strike 3!\u00a0 I\u2019m out.<\/p>\n
Steve went to his car and grabbed a brand new bottle of Advil.\u00a0 \u201cCan I just eat these like M&M\u2019s?\u201d I joked.\u00a0 I had to laugh to keep from crying.\u00a0 In reality, I was devastated.\u00a0 I could barely walk, let alone continue bowling.\u00a0 But I did manage to prove that I am the world\u2019s best granny bowler! And I still managed a significant ab workout since Emily spent a solid 5 minutes laughing at Nick\u2019s question, \u201cWhen is New Year\u2019s?\u201d\u00a0 Hey, it\u2019s good to laugh at yourself, it\u2019s even better to laugh at your friends.<\/p>\n
Steve, who had declared himself a terrible bowler, managed to beat everyone both games.\u00a0 Somewhere along the way, the other Steve showed up and took over for me.\u00a0 And Nick and Emily thought about going round 3 to break their tie, but ultimately, we all agreed to call it a day.<\/p>\n
I headed home to get ready for Brian\u2019s arrival for the evening.\u00a0 Even though I likely couldn\u2019t skate, we were still going to the fundraiser to support Luke and be social.\u00a0 When Brian and I pulled up to the Shaw Park skating rink that night and I pulled my skates from the back of my car, Brian looked at me like, \u201cYou\u2019re not seriously going to try this, are you?\u201d\u00a0 It was a bad idea, I knew it.\u00a0 But the idea of being the one to just stand there while everyone else participates, is more painful than the hamstring injury itself.<\/p>\n
We arrived and immediately said hi to Megan and Amy.\u00a0 Shane, Heather and Gerry showed up with skates on a minute or so later.\u00a0 Brian went and got skates, while I stood there holding mine and contemplating my dilemma.\u00a0 Everyone went out to the ice while I went in to say hi to Luke and buy raffle tickets.\u00a0 And then Shane started with the peer pressure.\u00a0 \u201cGet those skates on, Lady\u201d.\u00a0 Knowing that he was going to be there, I really should have left the skates in the car if I had any chance of avoiding getting on the ice.\u00a0 A few minutes later the skates were on, at least I was as tall as everyone else while I stood around in the cold.\u00a0 And finally, I ended the debate in my head, even if I went around the rink only one time, I HAD to.\u00a0 So we made our way to the ice.\u00a0 I was slow and careful and deliberate with my footing.\u00a0 And as I skated, I realized, this is ok.\u00a0 It\u2019s really not too bad.\u00a0 The big fear was if I started to fall and had to use my hamstring to stabilize myself, but I went around and around, hoping for the best.\u00a0 Until finally, it happened.\u00a0 I hit a chunk of ice and while I managed to stay upright, the damage was done.\u00a0 Ok, yes, I admit it.\u00a0 I was dumb.\u00a0 It was a bad idea.\u00a0 A really, really, really bad idea.\u00a0 So what made me ultimately risk it and get on the ice?\u00a0 Pride.\u00a0 Of course.\u00a0 There is absolutely no other reason.\u00a0 I should have accepted Strike 3 and left it at that.<\/p>\n
As we got off the ice, Luke\u2019s girlfriend Kim, who is a hilariously awesome and wonderful human being (and has beautiful red curtains) grabbed me to let me know I had won the Qdoba gift card in the raffle.\u00a0 Awesome.\u00a0 So now while I am injured and unable to run, at least I can eat free burritos.<\/p>\n
So now where do I go from here?\u00a0 Well, the good news is I have an appointment to get my hamstring looked at tomorrow morning.\u00a0 In the meantime, I guess I\u2019ll just keep swimming and biking as much as I can.\u00a0 Of course, we had yet another snow day today, so swimming was cancelled.\u00a0 So much for that idea.<\/p>\n
If nothing else, Winter 2014 with all of its snow days and setbacks is reminding me that I don\u2019t get to be in control and sometimes I just have to roll with the punches.\u00a0 On Saturday as I felt that jealousy twisting in my stomach over my friends running mileage in double digits in a day (I haven\u2019t even done that in a week lately\u2026or a month), I had to wonder\u2026am I jealous that they are doing that?\u00a0 Or am I jealous of the feeling they get when they are done and they can say, Yeah, I just finished a 16 mile run.\u00a0 Honestly, it\u2019s a little bit of both.\u00a0 As much as I say I don\u2019t have anything to prove to anyone else, I\u2019ll be honest here, I sure do like the look on a customer\u2019s face when they say, \u201cSo did you run today?\u201d\u00a0 And I respond, \u201cNah, I ran 20 yesterday so I took today off.\u00a0 I\u2019m training for another marathon.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s pride.\u00a0 And I like to keep proving my abilities.\u00a0 But it\u2019s times like this that I am forced to remember that while I am a runner, because I love it, it\u2019s not all that I am.\u00a0 There is so much more to it.<\/p>\n
The other night I was having a text conversation with my friend, Kristen.\u00a0 She was feeling frustrated that her running ability isn\u2019t where she wants it to be.\u00a0 And in my attempt to help her see the beautiful person that she is, she actually did the same for me as I read back through those texts.\u00a0 Sometimes we score, sometimes we assist.\u00a0 It’s all about teamwork. \u00a0Here is a portion of our conversation:<\/p>\n
RRG: You may not be able to do what everyone else can.\u00a0 That\u2019s ok.\u00a0 I want to qualify for Boston, but I can\u2019t quite get there.\u00a0 Does that make you think any less of me as a runner?<\/p>\n
KS: Not at all.\u00a0 I describe you to everyone else as \u201cepic badassosity\u201d.\u00a0 Boston has nothing to do with it.\u00a0 You run, you push yourself, you laugh, you cry, you help everyone around you, and your strength has nothing to do with your ability to run, swim, bike or drink epic amounts of Rum Chata.\u00a0 What makes me put you on that epic badass pedestal is the person you are inside, not your athletic awesomeness.<\/p>\n
RRG: And that, my friend, was exactly my point.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about who runs faster or farther or any of that BS.\u00a0 Be true to yourself.\u00a0 People are attracted to real, genuine people.\u00a0 You\u2019re awesome as you are. \u00a0Don\u2019t let anyone tell you otherwise.\u00a0 If they do, I will kick their ass.<\/p>\n
RRG again: Who you are is enough.\u00a0 Remember that.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s funny that I was having that conversation in an effort to make her feel better.\u00a0 And yet, I needed those words just a few days later.\u00a0 Yes, I have an injury.\u00a0 And it\u2019s incredibly humbling to say the very least.\u00a0 Especially because it re-happened while I was Bowling.\u00a0 Nothing ever hurts more than a blow to the ego.\u00a0 But I am RRG and I will rise again. One way or another.\u00a0 In a way, I have already risen above this, because I remember that who I am is enough.\u00a0 Thank you, Kristen, for reminding me of that. \u00a0This hamstring ain\u2019t got nothin\u2019 on me.<\/p>\n
Hopefully Dr. Laiderman will say the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some days just don\u2019t seem to go according to plan.\u00a0 Saturday was one of them.\u00a0 I had a great day planned.\u00a0 The boys\u2019 basketball games in the morning, meeting friends at Hidden Valley ski resort at noon to learn how to snowboard, church and closing out the day at Luke Hoffman\u2019s annual ice skating fundraiser […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-randomthoughts","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eO4v-9O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":609,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions\/609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}