Eliz goes to Urgent Care

Preface: If there is one thing I've learned since I started running is that life is very much like those rolling hills I enjoy running. Sometimes they are wonderfully easy, sometimes they are annoying as heck and other times I just want to lay down and admit defeat. Good thing I never take that last option. Also, this post was written a week ago. 

Ever since the surprise-awesome-5K, MJ has been bothering me a bit. Mostly, an inflamed hip flexor and the usual tricks - cold showers, ice bathing, foam rolling, massage, you friggen name it - were not working. So, I knew something was up. And I knew it was time to get back to basics and stop doing plyometrics, for goodness sake.

So, Tuesday, I went back to by good ol' hip and core routine and discovered it was a lot harder than it should have been. It's also disappointing, because I really wish those online workout programs would just do the trick for me (I really love working out and not having to think too much), but instead, noooooo, I have to do my specialized workout routine. UGH. It gets so boring after awhile, too. 

I digress. 

Here's where it gets juicy. Wednesday, I decide to workout at home and go back to my old lifting routine. I find the workouts on my phone and realize I need something to mimic the effect of lat pull downs. NOW, a normal, smart, reasonable person would think, I'll just do modified handstand pushups. Wicked hard (check the satisfying box), an inversion (check the yay! box) and reasonable (check the reasonable box). Instead, I grab one of my bands, look around my basement and see a hook in the ceiling that was probably used for a hanging plant. 

I'm going to stop you right there. 

Yes, exactly what you are imaging happened. Here's a lesson I learned that I really, really, really want you to learn as well without actually experiencing it: hooks that are secure enough for a hanging plant are NOT secure enough for band lat pulldowns. What will happen is that you will essentially slingshot a hook out of the ceiling towards your head and have it hit with such force that you have a gash in your head and a ringing in your ears. 

Needless to say, blood was soon gushing out of my head and I. Was. Freaking. The. EFF. Out. Thankfully, I did two things: put my hand firmly over the general area and did not stop putting pressure on it and called my neighbor who was able to come right over. She was able to help stop the bleeding and calm me down (during which Jeff thought this was an opportune time to try playing fetch) and then took me to urgent care to get things taken care of. 

The ladies at the urgent care were wonderful. I was so embarrassed that I just started joking about everything and by the end we were all laughing. A few of my favorite quotes from the visit: 

"At least I've never tried to fry a frozen turkey or set off a firework in my hand."

"We aren't going to shave your head."

"That stings!"
"The needle isn't even touching your head."
"But the liquid is touching the wound!"

"Do you feel that?"
"No."
"See? I don't even know why I went to medical school, I'm that good."

"Make sure we count how many staples we put in."
"I think it was six."
"Hmm ... one, two, three, four, five, six, SEVEN! Haha, you missed one!"
"Hey, I hit my head!"

Sexy

So, yesterday, I took it easy, slept a lot, was walking a bit slower than usual, ate half a pint of ice cream and tried to convince my mom it wasn't that big of a deal and that I was okay (it's not and I am!). I gave my neighbor irises from my backyard as a thank you and had to withdraw from my spot at this weekend's 5K - which is part of a city-wide corporate challenge thing that happens every year. I'm terribly disappointed in that. I wasn't going to race, but with MJ and company flaring up anyway, it's for the best. 

It's been very much an up and down 2017 for me - my memory of 2016 is mostly so wonderful that it's really been messing with my head. I've had disappointments in the relationship department, financial surprises that have made me thankful I have an emergency savings account (although money aside, the stress alone of that is insane, especially as a single person and I have a whole new level of respect and compassion for people who spend their entire existence living paycheck to paycheck or worse), the damn eardrum rupture, some changes at work that I've really had a hard time adjusting to, and now this. It's all #privilegedproblems, I know, but it doesn't lessen my experience of it. 

But so many wonderful things have happened this year, too! Actually training for a 5k and enjoying it, finally meeting AB in person, a sub-30 and managing to keep TWO houseplants alive (that's fantastic for me, folks). 

In any case, yesterday was Star Wars day (I'll save the May the 4th jokes for next year), and after getting in bed Wednesday night and catching myself wondering if the year was over yet, I decided I didn't need a January 1 to start over with a good attitude. So ... yesterday was 2017.2 for me. 

Happy New Year! And hey, it's next year, so ..... 

How's your year been so far? Rolling hills? Pancake flat? 
Has it felt like hard race or an easy run?