Not Pushing It

I’ve enjoyed these few days off and although I’m getting bored I managed to get a few painting projects. I can’t do too much more though. One irritation is the plantar fasciitis in my right heel. Yeah I had to goggle it. It's always a little sketchy to search the web by symptoms but in this case I'm certain.

 Were this a normal week I’d have run 3 to 4 times and probably shattered my old records. Instead I'm hobbling around the house gingerly and wincing with every needle like poke into my heel. I can trace my recent bruising to the long 17 mile run I did. 

What made me proud then makes me feel foolish now. I believe the last running post I did was called "pushing it" where I said the following phrase, "Sometimes it's good to push it." 

Right. 

As it turns out, sometimes its not.

I didn’t expect to be out for this long even with the painful experience. This Saturday will be 3 weeks since the last run. That run was cut a little short by excruciating heel pain. After that I decided to quit for a while. I got a used stationary bike since the gyms were closed and I had no other way or working out. It’s funny I never thought I would be one of these guys that just has to get a workout in.

 But good habits lead to good habits I guess. The bike lasted for exactly 3 spin class Youtube specials and the chain started grinding. So no more bike for a while.

I try to walk a little bit on the days I don’t work just to keep moving. What other choice do I have? Sleeping in late and taking a nap? Actually that sounds pretty good.

I’ve talked to people who have had plantar fasciitis and most say it goes away after a while. I’m not just waiting I'm praying too. I just started developing a routine of running with others, something I was always reluctant to do. The virus is the main culprit in all of this. Some from the group are still making up the distances from the program. I’m sure they’re spacing out in small groups. There is a schedule for those training for races later in the year. Races which are likely not happening as a good chunk of summer events have been washed out like a rural highway in a thunderstorm.

I’m sick of this damn virus. I don’t mean the disease itself, although that’s awful, I mean the reset we’ve been forced to endure in a ways we haven’t even seen yet. Work will likely ramp up in a few weeks. Businesses all over the country will reopen with restrictions, with new guidelines, with a fearful public. The last one is certainly the X factor. Do people just go back to life as normal and go to gyms, restaurants and ball games? I hope they do. But the fear of catching it still looms and shouting “All Clear!” after the hysteria of quarantines and daily death counts feels uneven.

It's not all bad though. I see people walking through my neighborhood with dogs on leases, pushing strollers and seeming more relaxed. When I see people jog by with their water bottles and digital watches I feel a pang of sadness. For a while anyway.