Battle Scars

After my last fall (which I wrote about in my last entry in “Seven More Miles”), I wasn’t myself for several days – not that “being myself” is all that great. But after the fall, I felt “under the weather,” achy and sore.  And the next day, my first day back to work, I was a bit cranky. I didn’t have as much patience as I usually do with my students. I apologized to them, and they said, “Oh, no! It’s me not you!!”   My students are so polite and appreciative. I love them. I told a few female students about my fall and showed them my battle scars. They cringed and turned quickly away. Maybe I should not have revealed the damage.

Quite frankly, I was a little embarrassed about walking around with scabby legs – as the scabs ran from my knee down to my ankle. Being that I wear dresses when not on the trails, I wore boots all week to cover the damage. And being that I did not run all week, but spent my workout time at the gym, I wore leggings instead of shorts, in order to cover the damage. To top it off, the hole in my hand wasn’t healing as quickly as I wished because I picked at it too much. Come to think of it, I picked at the scabs on my leg as well.

It took me seven whole days to get back out on the trails. I needed about three days to recover from the accident, and then it rained for a few more days. Finally, on the seventh day (Sunday, April 10), we had a break in the rain, and amazingly, Aliso/Woods Canyons was not closed due to “wet and muddy conditions.”  It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed my eight mile loop immensely. It’s always so crisp and clear after a rain. I’m glad I enjoyed it while I could, because little did I know that I would not get in a run for the next seven days. I have not run since. To make up for it, one might think that I over did it at the gym with three plus hours of cardio each visit. In reality, I can hardly feel three hours of cardio at the gym in comparison to a few hours on the trails. And all it is, is cardio, and that is not my ultimate goal – time on the trails where I can heal and grow – that is my ultimate goal.

My April 10 route: Wood Canyon, Cholla Trail, West Ridge to Top of the World, West Ridge, Mathis, Wood Canyon.