Cinderella

If you’ve run with me you’ve probably heard me “joke” about how it would be nice to have a slight injury – nothing so serious it would take me out of the game, just something minor that would provide me with a good excuse for not running.

There are many people in PRC who have run with injuries, unable to stand the thought of missing out on a run. Stress fractures, broken toes, IT band issues, knee pain, back spasms, mange, blight, you name it. All I needed was a hang nail to take me out.

Then, about a week ago I felt a slight twinge in my ankle. I noticed it one evening at home and figured it was nothing much, just aches at the end of a long day. Throughout the week I noticed the pain returned each evening after a day on my feet. I called my family doctor to make an appointment but it turns out he had enough of the crappy weather July had on offer and got out of dodge for a while.

So on Thursday before the group run I was faced with a dilemma. To run or not to run? I had the perfect excuse – a slight injury, just like I always wanted. But instead of refrains of “Happy Birthday to ME!!!” blaring in my mind, the only song stuck in my head was “Don’t Know What You Got (Til It’s Gone)” by Cinderella.

Video: Don't Know What You Got (Til It's Gone)

I had visions of x-rays, stress fractures and wearing that big boot they make you wear. Months of physiotherapy. Years of rehabilitation. Never being able to run again.

Don’t know what you got, til it’s gone, don’t know what it is I did so wrong…and it ain’t easy to get back, takes so long.

Was I really disappointed at the thought of missing out on the group runs? Or would I just miss spending time with my favorite people? The jury’s still out.

My ankle wasn’t bothering me at run time, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try, preparing myself for a short run that I could cut even shorter if my ankle broke. I looked around at the group members to see if any of the one million nurses who run with PRC were there to assist me with a speed splint if needed. All my bases were covered.

There were a couple of newcomers out for a test run, looking for someone slow to run with and our Membership Coordinator Andrew naturally thought of me. It couldn’t have worked out better. We decided to do a 5k run and skip the hill training since there were several in the group with injuries. It was hot and sticky but we managed to finish our run in 39 minutes and no ambulances were required.

It was a decent run. I didn’t hate it or feel like death. My new sneakers were still able to keep rocks and blisters out. Smiley face selected again. It might not be love but things are definitely looking up.