Weighing, waiting and the bliss of cross-training

I weighed in this week and I was up a bit - 206.2. Pfffffft ... but I'm totally letting myself off the hook a little bit, because it's Nature's Special Time and I know I'm Bloaty the Elf. Yes, I'm pretty sure that means I will not make it to the under-200 club by the time the Shamrock Shuffle rolls around. But I'm okay with that.

Also because I'm putting myself on mandatory rest, so I'm not getting as much working out in these days as usual. First of all, work is requiring some long hours these days. I'm getting to the gym or to the road for a run, but not as often or for as long as usual. But the actual reason for the rest is ... yeah, my left Achilles is totally fucking with me.

The good news is, I recognize the pain, so I'm resting immediately, rather than thinking this is something I can work through and causing greater injury. So, we wait. We ice. We sit with our feet up. The Shuffle is March 25, and I think I'll hold off running (at least anything over a mile) until then.

Having a new, fresh injury pop up has an interesting side effect: gratitude. See, my right Achilles has healed to the point that I forgot what it felt like. I completely forgot the pain, how it felt to have a constant limp. So this gentle reminder has made me feel grateful that I have healed, and come back stronger than ever.

It also made me realize that I have done what I set out to do. All I asked from my legs is that they allow me one half marathon. Just let me do this one thing, and everything else will be gravy.

I'm sitting - metaphorically speaking - in gravy. I can't let myself forget that. So I will give myself however much time I need to heal, and I'll be grateful for it.

Tomorrow, Linda and I will be volunteering for our first race. Good timing, because I wouldn't want to run it, anyway. I'm looking forward to giving back to the race community. I think it will be meaningful. I also think I'll still have breakfast afterward.

And in the meanwhile, there are lots of things I can still do. Bike (oh, how I love spin class!), run, elliptical, walk (carefully) ... I'm in a better place now to continue working out even without running than I've ever been in before.

So here goes ... the continuing saga of my shrinking ass. Stay tuned.