The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back

I like idioms. One of my favorite is when someone says, “beating a dead horse”. To most that means bitching about something that cannot be changed. I always envision a horse, four hooves up, with a little jockey just beating the hell out of it with a riding crop. You think that too? Do not be mistaken with “The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back”. For this situation, I am obviously the camel, last Saturday’s run was the straw, and the broken back is my left foot. I don’t believe my left foot is broken as in stress fracture or broken bones (I hope) only that it is not functioning as intended.

Last Saturday was a typical Saturday morning run. It had thawed a little bit and we were rolling out for 14 – 18. Nemo and I were going shorter. MD and GS are going a little longer. Just as it was the week before, after a few miles, I’m having some pain. It is likely “Plantar Fasciitis”. So despite my well-declared flimsy plan a few weeks ago, I’m taking a break from running for 3 weeks. Maybe it is a “blessing in disguise”. I’m rethinking my plan for the year. More on that as it solidifies.

My broken camel is not the only broken camel. A few Wednesday’s ago, GS let me know that his camel may be broken as well. We rolled out for a 5:30 am run in 3 degree Fahrenheit weather. That’s -16 Celsius for my Canadian readers. As we wrapped up the 6 miler, GS went straight to his car “Faster than a New York Minute”. He has since cursed the idea of trying to peak in April. There is just no way to get tempo and track workouts without resorting to the treadmill and no one like the treadmill. But this is just too cold...poor Nemo needs to get some defrosters for his brows

MD’s camel may have been his 2:00 am arrival from Chicago on Friday. I’m not sure about that because he failed to show up at the office on Friday. Now that he is back to work, he is finding a few inconveniences in his schedule. He’ll bounce back though. Right now he is participating in some fitness testing at OSU regarding his VO2 Max, Body Composition and Resting Metabolism but it is “All Greek to Me”. Nemo doesn’t so much have a broken back but a “needle in the side”. He has some commitments with his kids on Saturday’s that is disrupting his Saturday schedule.

Do not fret! This is not the end of MRC(am). I think everyone is “rolling with the punches”. The Columbus chapter “may be down but we’re not out”. AZ chapter seems to be fairing better. My sis-in-law just finished her first marathon and Dr. DB just wrapped up his first trail race today with a 25K in the rain soaked sand. Despite the fact that he was “Under the weather”, he said he had a “Field Day”

Despite missing the guys all week, I’ve kept myself busy by going to the gym trying to get guns like J-Fo and getting back in the pool. I’m not sure it will make me run faster in April but it keeps me a little occupied. We actually had a heat wave roll in today. The thermometer read 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Once again for the Canadian posse that’s 5 degrees Celsius. It wasn’t exactly the “dog days of summer” but it was nice enough to check out the new SRAM Force shifters. So far, I’m pleased. I can’t say for sure since I was wearing 2 pairs of thick gloves. Not a lot of feeling in my hands.

But now let’s”Get Down to Brass Tacks”. I’m going to have to run the Boston kind of casually. I’m going to take it easy and maybe be out there “Til the cows come home”. The new plan is to get healthy and progress slowly through the spring. I’ll hit some early season triathlons, maybe get some good bike miles in June, and focus on Steelhead. I have an “Axe To Grind” with that race. I’ve had the swim cancelled once and I did not even start it last year. This year I’m going to “Go For Broke”. You know they say that the “Third times a charm”

This post brought to you by “The Idiom Site”. Ladies and gentlemen, “Elvis has left the building”.

Stats:
Bunch of nothing this week
32 x 100 swim on 1:55 – 2:00
25 mile ride (no timing)