Injured again, I've been sidelined from running. It's not serious or very painful, just a minor sensitive spot related to my Achilles. I recognize this pain because if some of you may remember I had this last year around the same time (I think), just before the Mississauga Marathon (which by the way I want to remind everyone what a great run that really is. More people should be aware of it. It's a gentle route and quite beautiful in parts as it meanders through heavily treed areas and ends up along the waterfront).
Last week I struggled with myself over whether to stop running or not since I wasn't feeling pain during a run until I started to get beyond 5 k. In other words, once I started to hit my training kilometers after my warm up I was starting to feel some pain. Being on my feet all day at work, rushing around a warehouse doesn't really help either. At the end of a work day my heel has been aching. Okay that's enough of the poor-me stories. After missing my long slow run (LSD) on Sunday I reassessed on Monday with my coach (D.) and I thought it was best to rest. I sat on the bike at the gym Monday and did some strength work, and felt okay after that. I've been icing and then doing the heat and ice alternating and that seems to be working.
My new shoes arrived last week and I tried a new one on versus and old one and wow what a difference. I could really feel it in the heel of the shoe which is probably how I ended up injuring my Achilles since my heel hasn't had the support its needed. So, D. keep scouting ebay for more shoes. I'm going to start breaking in my new ones once I feel okay to run again.
Today I went back to the gym at the aquatic centre and sat on the bike again doing a hill program and did some more strength work. The good news is I feel fine. I'm keeping off my feet as much as possible on my day off and wearing a heel lift in my shoe.
The aquatic centre was insanely busy since it is spring break and all the little kiddies were lined up at the counter to get in. Fortunately I wasn't using the pool and the tiny gym area is pretty much a kid-free zone. There's a few teen boys lifting weights that are way too heavy for them so it's rather entertaining to see them trying to act all macho with such slight frames, pushing themselves way harder than necessary.
Anywho...after my workout I headed to the showers and changing area that was teaming with children and moms. There was one mom with her young kids, a daughter and son who couldn't have been much more than a year apart in age probably 4 and 5, who kept talking and talking and talking to them. Or was it more for herself. The mom kept referring to herself as "mommy" as in "mommy just has to get dressed" and "mommy will get you a bag of chips when mommy takes you home." This dialogue with herself kept going. Maybe the moms out there can respond to my question, at what point do you become mommy and lose your sense of self? Or is it just some moms that do this. I don't remember my mum doing that when I was a kid.
Anywho...I headed to the showers and had to wait for a shower which was no big deal. But then when I went back to my locker this mommy and her kids seemed no further ahead. Not only that, but she had sprawled all of their belongings across the one bench and the floor around us. "Where's your blue sock? Mommy can't find your sock. Mommy has to look for your sock." My sense of the scene was what's wrong with this picture? I wasn't sure if I should feel sorry for this woman who seemed so scattered she still couldn't dress herself or if I should be frustrated by her need to impose on everyone else with all her crap spread out everywhere. Couldn't she at least enlist one of the kids to help her look for the lost sock? Hasn't she taught them how to dry themselves with a towel yet? I remember being quite self sufficient at a pretty early age. I can't imagine my mum ever having acted like that. Maybe it's because I don't have kids and maybe it was all the chaos going on around us anyway that made me want to get out of there as quickly as possible. I grabbed my bag and stuffed everything, wet and dry, into it and scooted away, searching for a space to change. All the benches were full of mommies and kids and more kids and more mommies. I saw one of the changing cubicles were free and I dashed for it. It was a a bit of refuge from the craziness outside. I purposefully took my time changing because I didn't want to feel hurried like all the moms and kids in there who raced around dressing themselves and drying their hair, dropping socks and searching for lost towels and little shoes. I felt really out of place and knew I didn't belong.
It was a great relief to be leaving the aquatic centre and be in the solitude outside. I guess I wasn't cut out for that life of searching for socks and drying off kids after a swim or giving up all of myself and put all my energy into that little person. Some people call this choice selfish. Maybe it is. I guess I'm set in my life the way it is and am quite happy living as we do. Now if I can just magically heal my Achilles and get running again I'll be really happy.
4 comments:
Just to let you know you're not alone- I was swimming competitively at 4 and a half years old, and by 5 and 6 I'd be at the pool for practice before and after school and swim meets on weekends. There was NO WAY my mommy was toweling meoff or losing socks so I do think it can't be a universal mommy thing. At least, I hope not.
I tend to agree now that I've had a couple of days away from it all.
Wonder what our "mommy" would say? I remember a pretty open, honest relationship with her, we were very self- relient. I think child rearing has morphed into something completely different these days. Kids are coddled, and are growing up in a fear- based society. They are very protected from the world.
Which is not always good. We are children from the 60's and 70's, our hippy parents gave us room to breathe, and grow.And you're not selfish at all, the planet is over crowded. It is good that our focus is elsewhere. That is the way the cards were dealt.
L.
Good point L. It's a pretty different world that kids are growing up in.
Agreed, the planet is waaay overcrowded.
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