Patience is what hurts you

Hell is waiting.

I ignored the tenderness in my left heel for the past week, riding hurt about 4 times, most of those rides at a nuclear pace. I could stagger to the bike dragging my maimed left foot, clip in and forget about it. Once the blood started flowing it felt fine. The pain would subside and by the end of the ride I could walk almost normal. I figured riding was good for it. When it got stiff as the day went on I took it to yoga class and stretched it out with a little Adho Mukha Svanasana, thinking that ought to straighten things out.

This would prove to be a stupid treatment plan. For want of a nail the shoe was lost, and the horse, the soldier, the war. Now I have spent this long and lovely weekend back in the healing place, living the shut-in’s schedule. Now that I have acknowledged the injury, and given it due respect, I can feel it getting better. Crutches, ice, heat, ibuprofen, epsom salts, and a whole lot of pushing my bottom lip out as far as it will go.

Waiting is hard work, and one must train for it as with any other discipline. I have experience now, and I know what must be done. Nothing. Rest means rest. No more staggering around dragging my lame hoof behind me. When physical expression is hampered, I retreat to the life of the mind. I could practice guitar, paint a picture, write on my blog, edit the manifesto, file my files, or make the cat a new costume (I’m thinking a Lebron James jersey?) I could do those things, but instead I choose to watch the clock, afraid that if I take my eyes from it time will stop, and my foot will never heal.

As Wrecking Ball would say, “That ain’t shit. Call me when you have a real problem.”

Juancho

9 Responses to Patience is what hurts you

  1. haha! I love cats. You could do something simple for him (her?), like a white coat doctor costume. Then you’d feel like you were being taken care of and not just stared at or ignored, in between paw lickings and ear cleanings.

  2. Naw its all real bro. I hurt my shoulder in a crash (a month ago…bad!) and as I was telling my wife I needed to take a week off to heal, when the phone rang. Big Worm needed back up so I was out the door in seconds. Eeverybody thinks being “tough” is noble, but really riding hurt is the easy, immature choice.
    I’ll start not riding tomorrow.

  3. That’s too bad; the Robot Army needed some guidance this weekend. The training schedule went to hell when certain operatives left their regimen to appear naked in public.

    I tried to rein it in, but my policy regarding naked Robots is strictly, “hands off!”