A Willie Wonka Saturday morning

I'll be back Dec 1, 2012

Willie Wonka is not a movie for kids. Cleavage, cows being whipped (whipped cream), Johnny Depp insulting kids. Fantastic stuff...for grown-ups...on drugs!  But sitting in the waiting room of a local walk in clinic last Saturday there I was watching Willie Wonka feeling as I had been transported into an Alice in Wonderland psychedelic dream world.  Maybe that was a good thing because I was waiting to see a Doctor about a new injury to my right foot and it helped distract me from the thought going through my mind, "What special hell brought me to this?"

"The sharp pain in my right foot every I take a step, that's what". Last week on my way to a bike ride with my friend Brad I 'did something' to my right foot...again! (Read about it:  Took a Ride on the Giant...and Injured my Foot).  Not my left foot, never my left foot.  Not my knees or hips.  My right foot, my Achilles Heel.  Bad pun I know but I'm in a walk-in clinic watching Willie Wonka on the Saturday morning of a long weekend...the last one of the summer!  At least I listened to Sally this time and went to see a Doctor rather than my usual self medication routine.  And it only took me 4 days to get medical treatment this time.

The real fear running through my head watching Johnny Depp was that after the past 3 years of right foot-related injuries my running days were coming to an end!

"Say it ain't so". 

Miles and Age are conspiring against me, I know they are. 'MileAge' likes the Before guy with the size 42" waist and is determined to see him return. You see, 'MileAge' likes salty snacks and beer. He likes a sedentary lifestyle.  'MileAge' does NOT like running. He would love the Doctor to tell me that it will take 4 - 6 weeks to recover from this injury whether it is a muscle/tendon strain or a broken bone.  

And that's just what the Doctor ordered when I finally got to see him that morning.  He didn't think I had broken any bones but sent me for X-Rays anyway (Results in a few days).  But the recovery prescription was the same:  no running for 4 to 6 weeks.  Dam, that puts the Toronto 1/2 Marathon and 2012 Fund Raising in serious jeopardy.  Not to mention the goal of finishing the 1/2 Marathon in under 2 hours.  Time to re-group.

Water Running.  Wait, did the Willie Wonka movie screw up my mental capacity?  Actually not.  Dan Cumming of Reggae Marathon Fame is a seasoned runner, author, blogger (Running in the Zone) and good friend and his first advice was to try water running.  Hmmm...we have a pool in our building, this is a good time to give it a try. Maybe the local municipal pool will have a big-screen TV playing Rocky Horror Picture Show...or Willie Wonka!

So all is not lost. No road running for a few weeks to recover fully.  Water running to stay race-ready for both the Toronto 1/2 Marathon in October and the Reggae Marathon 10 K in December.  Yes, I may have to spend the next few months in a pool wearing a flotation belt but this is not the day I no longer run! 

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy
++++++Follow me on Facebook at Run for Heart.  Races for 2012: Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront 1/2 Marathon, October 14, Reggae Marathon, December 1