I thought I had to call it quits

So Wednesday, July 6th began like many mornings here at the McIntyre Household. The alarm went off at 5:15am reminding us that it was a gym morning- as normal we hit snooze a few times before finally getting up and out the door. We aim to work out together at least two mornings a week and since Brendan leaves for work at 7:30am, we normally workout from 5:45-6:30-ish.

After our workout I ran home from the gym (which is between 1.5-2 miles depending on the route I take). In hindsight, I am SO THANKFUL that we worked out that morning and that I had completed 1.5 miles before 7am. You will see why in a minute, I am getting there....

After eating breakfast, drinking my coffee, and perusing some of my favorite blogs (www.younghouselove.com and www.bowerpowerblog.com), I decided it was time to head to my Aunt Michelle and Uncle Ron's house to begin working on some furniture I was refinishing. They live here in Reston too and have garage space for me to work in.

I had worked for a little over an hour when it began to rain. There isn't a lot of room to work in the garage and since I am mostly working with spray paint, I decided it was best to haul the furniture inside and call it a day.

As I headed out the door and down the front stairs (3 stairs to be exact)- I slipped and fell (HARD) on my back/left side. My butt fell on the third step with my back hitting the edges of the other two stairs. I think it was the combination of my cheap $2 Old Navy flip-flops and wet stairs that are to blame. Anyways, I am thankful that I didn't hit my head and blackout because I was all alone at the house and there was not a soul on the street (I'm thankful for that too since no one saw me fall).

I gathered enough composure to stand, despite the searing pain in my back, and walked the length of the porch just to make sure I could walk. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, what if I couldn't run anymore? I knew I could walk but the pain was so bad that I feared the worst. I called Brendan in tears- he asked if I thought I could drive and I said yes. So he said to head home and apply some ice and see how it feels in the evening.

One painful 7 mile car ride home and the rest of the afternoon was spent on the floor of the living room with ice and Advil. My cousin and running partner Tom was kind enough to bring lunch and walk Brie for me. Around 2:00 the pain had not improved (despite 600 mg of Advil) so I called the doctor's office. They couldn't get me in that same day, but I was scheduled for 11:00am on Thursday. The nurse ensured me that since the lump forming on my back was soft that I probably had not broken anything. So- I did about all that I could do, took a muscle relaxer and headed to bed. I woke up long enough to get an ice pack, heat pad, and "get well soon" card from my husband and eat dinner. Then, it was back to La La Land.

I woke up Thursday in more pain than the day before so I am glad that I was scheduled to see the doctor at 11. Dr. Garvert took one look at my back and said that I definitely had some bruising and swelling. She then touched my spine and because it was so tender she ordered an x-ray.

Before heading to get my x-ray I told her about this blog and my bet. I confided that I had cried more about giving this goal up then about the pain I was in. She totally rocked my world when she said that I could run so long as my body felt okay and the x-ray showed that nothing was broken. She also promised that if I went right away for the x-rays that she'd have an answer by the end of the day (and I could potentially get my run in w/o missing a day).

Not ten minutes after leaving radiology center (where I had been for the last hour and a bit) the nurse called to say that nothing was broken! She also said that she heard about my goal from the doctor and thought it was awesome. I WAS CLEARED TO RUN!

I headed home to physically (laying on ice for the rest of the afternoon) and mentally prepare. I was still afraid that running would hurt like hell and I'd have to admit defeat. That night, I headed out for a mile...and it was not as painful as I had anticipated. As I ran the soreness and aching in my back muscles was intensified when my legs made impact with the ground. Bu thankfully no sharp, shooting pains. I made it through a mile (while only adding 20 seconds to my normal pace). This morning I made it another mile at a more normal 9:36 pace.

I am planning to stick with a mile until my back muscles loosen up and the bruising and swelling begin to fade, but I am so thankful that I didn't have to throw in the towel on this goal. It would have been a painful reminder of my experience giving up Navy Seal Team 6 when I realized I couldn't swim the length of an Olympic sized swimming pool while underwater.

Did I mention that since my summer vacation began not only have I fallen down the stairs, but I've locked myself on my patio for 1.5 hours and locked my keys in my car!

Don't you think that I am due for a break!?!

Part of the problem: cheap flip-flops + pouring rain on wooden steps

= one yucky back injury And this is what is keeping me in running form (got to show my love for CVS - I worked there in high school)