Is it Christmas yet?

Soooooo....I saw the doc yesterday morning. Problem was I didn't feel any pain, so I had to convince myself that this appointment was worth the time. When I got there and I was sitting on the table waiting for the doc to come in, I felt a dull pain, but it was almost like it was just there because I was thinking about it. Like I willed the leg to hurt....that just sounds weird. Anyway, I was very honest with the doc and told him about everything that has happened and where I get pain, so he did a couple of stretches on my lower leg to figure out which muscles/bones were possibly involved. Fibula? No. Peroneals? No....there went my best guess. Calf? Yes. He said that I have a tightness where the soleus and gastrocnemius meet up with their respective tendons....or, tightness in the musculotendon junction. He said it's just something that comes up every now and then in runners for some reason. I told him I haven't run in almost 2 weeks, but that I have been biking/swimming/elliptical-ing to maintain fitness and stretching/icing/generally taking care of my lower leg, so he said that if I were a regular run-of-the mill runner he'd recommend staying away from running for 4 weeks. But since I'm feeling better, he said it's a judgement call for me and he trusts me to make the right decision. He finished the appointment by diagnosing me with "leg tendonitis" and telling me to see how it feels in the next week. If it feels bad, then he said to make another appointment and he'll refer me to a good physical therapist.

So how is it now? Great. I really feel a LOT better. It's funny because I was reading the latest post in Eric's blog ("The Pool Update") and he seems to be feeling the same thing that I am. A week and a half ago, I had some difficulty walking with pain, and going down stairs were the worst. But now, walking is just fine and stairs seem like the easiest thing in the world.

Today I was gonna go on an elliptical at the rec center but as I was biking there, I was like "Ehhhh let's bike a little bit before hand."....because the rec center is only like a third of a mile from where I live. So I ended up biking 11 miles and scrapped the elliptical workout. The leg did get a sort of burning sensation at the beginning but then it quickly went away and felt good for the whole ride. While I was biking, I was catching up on my episodes of Phedippidations podcasts, and I listened to episode 46 - "Running Legend: Terry Fox". If any of you want to hear an inspiring story or just need something good to listen to during your next long workout, check out that episode. It's on iTunes, or check out the web page.

For this class I'm taking this summer, I have to work with a 13 year old kid with Down Syndrome and teach him various sports skills. He really gets into it, so it's fun working with him. Anyway, as I left my house and was halfway down the street to go there, I realized I left my wallet in my other shorts. So I drove back and without thinking, ran from the car to the front door because I was already late. When I went in the house, I stopped and realized that I didn't feel any pain! So that was a really really good sign. Then while I'm working with my kid, there are times when he throws a ball really far and/or completely in the wrong direction, so I have to go get it. At one point, I sort of jogged to get it, and again felt nothing. I didn't wanna chance it, but it still made me feel good. I felt like that kid at Christmas time who knows what he's gonna get for presents but still makes an effort to try to get a sneak peak in and see if that's really what it is. So the kid has to exhibit a bunch of self-control and wait patiently for that day. Oh how happy I'll be when that day comes...

One thing that made me happy today was my chance to finally cook for the first time in a while. I've been so busy lately that I've only had time for regular old pasta or sandwiches or something like that. But tonight I made caribbean polite chicken....because it barely has any cayenne pepper in it. The first time I made it for me and my roomates, our mouths were on fire for forever. So yea....twas a good meal :) I swear, any girl can win me over by just giving me food. Or by giving me a back rub.