secret weapons

weekend distance:  11 miles
on the iPod:  "like a G6" -- far east movement

One thing is for certain in life, and that is nothing is certain.  As soon as things seem to be going better than a sleeping pile of puppies, circumstances can change.  That's exactly what happened 13 days ago when I woke up bright and early for another day of stamping out ignorance one class at a time at Bentonville High School.  Except on that particular morning, my upper back had a knot that didn't feel much like stamping so I decided that i'd give the stamping a rest and do some soft nudging of the little cherubs instead.  I had felt this sort of pain a time or two over the years and it usually subsided within 24 hours.  It didn't this time.

In fact, the knot became more than an annoyance and seemed to get worse as the days went on.  Not good.  By Thursday I could tell that my body was reacting to the pain with stress and sleep deprivation, neither or which could be productive.  I began to wonder about the last long run that Mrs. Murie and I had scheduled -- a 20 miler for that coming weekend.  By Friday night the knot had still not gotten better and I was a miserable, cranky mess and knew that running 20 miles wasn't going to be an option.  I found myself in full-on complaining mode and, worst of all, I started to convince myself that I had done real damage to my upper back that would jeopardize running the New York City Marathon.  Cynthia Puckett, Susan, Mrs. Pugh, and Todd bore the brunt of my whining, yelling, and anger through phone calls and text messages, and they all responded differently.  But Cynthia, in her calm and loving way, convinced me to call a doctor and get some help, so that's what we did.  She even picked me up and drove me.  

After a few different consultations and much gnashing of teeth, I was able to understand that, no, I had not permanently damaged, shattered, disfigured, or otherwise ruined my upper back, but had only strained a muscle.  Happens all the time.  Not only does it happen all the time, but in many cases there's no way to tell exactly how it happened or when it will fully heal.  The treatment consisted of a steroid injection on the spot and a prescription for muscle relaxers.  Wow, that was simple.  The hard part was waiting for the pain to work itself out and not running.

But nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and sometimes the most expensive doctors visits and clinically-proven strategies can only do so much.  That's when the secret weapons kick in -- the stories and remedies that are passed down like ancient scribes from runner to runner   and guaranteed to offer relief and get anybody laced up and moving again.

Take peas, for instance.  Growing up I refused to eat peas because I thought they had hair in them.  Just ask Cynthia Puckett, she'll tell you first-hand how many times I ate peas.  Zero.  Eventually she gave up and stopped cooking them.  Turns out, peas are amazing for back pain, particularly when they are frozen.  So I've  spent an entire week now laying twice a day on a bag of frozen peas.  I'm not even kidding.

And then there's little bitty Dixie Cups.  In the 39 years of my existence on this planet, I can't say that i've ever really thought much about Dixie Cups beyond the fact that they give them to you at the dental office full of mouthwash and that sometimes they're full of jello shots at Halloween parties, tailgates, mardi gras, and other ilk.  But little bitty Dixie Cups are great for making ice bullets that can massage a specific knot anywhere on the body.  They're pretty much my favorite thing right now.  

But the best secret weapon that i've been told the most was the easiest and my favorite.  Every doctor and nursing friend that i've reached out to, every runner that i've texted and emailed, every teacher and friend and intelligent person in my life that i've whined and cried to about this damn back pain, and please understand that i've done a lot of whining and crying and reaching out, they've all said the same thing:  calm down and get rest.  So that's what I'm doing.  

I've slept in.  I've taken naps.  I've skipped church.  I've spent more time on the couch.  And yesterday afternoon, after getting in one of the best six mile runs i've ever had in my life, I spent the entire afternoon watching college football with my good friend Welsher, he on the couch and I laid on the floor with Little Zach smashed up right next to me taking a nap with his head resting on my chest.  It was a sweet little gesture from a dog that I love dearly, and it allowed me to clear my mind and relax my body.  And it's exactly what I needed.

The New York City Marathon is exactly two weeks from today and I'm almost certain that my upper back will take care of itself and be fully healed by the time I cross the starting line.  Mrs. Murie and I will do one more 12 miler to prepare, and then there's nothing left to do but finish strong in Central Park.  I'll admit that I was a little bit of a baby about the injury, but I really was terrified that I wasn't going to be able to run and that would have been devastating.  Getting in two great runs this weekend with zero pain has made all the difference in the world in my cognition and attitude, and i'm back to thinking about my seventh marathon with unbelievable awe.  I still can't believe that i'm a marathoner, i'm just a guy that likes to run.  

Lastly, I want to say thank you again for everybody who has read the first two installments of my writing in Celebrate Arkansas magazine.  I'm really proud and thankful to have the opportunity to do so.  The October issue is available now and I'll have writing in the November and Decembers issues as well!  Please accept my most humblest of thanks for supporting my writing.  

Run.