In spite of Jim Wharton’s warning that limping on a broken toe would set off all kinds of imbalances with even more dire consequences than a bitty fracture and my marathon runner’s iron clad oath to stay in perfect balance with a perfect gait, I couldn’t help a small limp. It happened without my being aware. No Kenyan would be admitting this. I’m sure they just shove the bone back through the skin, slap on a little duct tape, toss back an aspirin, and return to the trail. I, on the other hand, have an innate, human response to pain (even little pain). I avoid it. In mere mortals, this is natural. In marathon runners, it’s a character flaw. In my quest to become Kenyan-like, I have to be more mindful.
The imperceptible limp is exhausting me, which tells me that other muscles are kicking in to compensate for one side of my body that thinks it’s no longer on firm foundation. Because all body parts are interconnected (no matter where they are or what they do), all kinds of evil juju is beginning to crop up … just as Jim Wharton warned it could. Even my back aches. If I think about this long enough and draw a few anatomical charts and graphs, I’ll eventually be able to link the broken toe to bad hair and global warming. Stoooooopid little toe. Who knew it was this important for balance?
So we move to the Plan B. Hit the stretch rope intensively to loosen up tired muscles that are shorting out. Forget diamonds. Stretch rope is a girl’s best friend. Healing is happening. Back out onto the road. New York Marathon, here I come! One more time!
(Go to Jim and Phil’s site: www.whartonperformance.com and click on self-help to see some of the routine I’m using. And get yourself a stretch rope. It’s a Kenyan thing to do.)
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