Thursday - Part 2: A visit to the ER

Note: Read Part 1 first, as it makes part 2 seem even more ironic.

I successfully rode my bike 24 miles to and from work. My stress fracture was healing. I was proud of me and eager to get back on the trail.

After eating dinner, my two year old and I went out to the backyard. We were playing hide and seek. He'd count and I'd hide where he told me to. Sometimes I would trick him by hiding somewhere else. One of the times I was trying to surprise him I ran off the deck and hit the ground. My foot hit the ground and bent at an angle that it really wasn't supposed to. I heard a crack and then I fell on the ground with a moan. My two year old came over and said, "Mommy you go hide. You go hide!"

I tried to explain amidst the pain that Mommy hurt her leg and couldn't get up but he didn't understand. I stopped for a moment and realized my other foot was fine, and that I needed to get up because my husband had just set out to run for 11 miles which would take over an hour. He didn't carry his phone with him. My six year old was at a friend's house.

So I got up and hopped back up on the deck and toward the door. My two year old followed, asking me what happened. I made it to the couch and then I tried to explain to him I needed a bag of frozen peas. He's just tall enough to open the freezer. I explained I needed the bag with the little green balls on it. "Can you get it for Mommy?" "Yeah!" he said. Then he ran to the refrigerator, opened the freezer door and said "Do you want a strawberry fruit pop?" I said, "No, Mommy needs the peas." He didn't understand.

I gave up and he just came over and kept asking what was wrong. Then my six year old came home and asked if he could go on a bike ride with his friend. I said, "No! You have to stay here and help me! I fell and did something to my leg!" At first he wasn't sure what to make of the situation but then he really stepped up and helped out. He got the peas for me. He gave his brother a snack. He even helped his brother get ready for bed. He was cleaning up the toys (!) with his brother (!!) when my husband came home. He took a few glances around the house and then said, "What's going on?" I explained and he said I needed to go to the hospital to get my ankle checked out.

So I did. My boss, who is also my neighbor, was awesome. She came and got me and took me to the hospital while my husband stayed home with the kids. After waiting for a while for a wheelchair out by the valet parking, I was checked in, triaged, x-rayed, diagnosed, wrapped up and sent home with a sprained ankle.

So now I'm off my foot for another week. I'm hobbling around on crutches and my foot is a lovely shade of dark purple. My parents visited this weekend and got to wait on me, and my husband had to put in overtime (weekends are sort of his time off since he stays home with the kids during the week).

And now I get to try to hobble around at work tomorrow, which will make me a different kind of celebrity. The woman who rode her bike 24 miles in a day and then fell off her porch playing hide and seek. Lovely.

I don't know how long this will take but I don't think I can take it anymore. I'm itching to ride my bike. Oddly enough, I'm not really interested in running. Especially in this heat. I think I'll just have to start all over again next year.

I look at it this way: this gives my stress fracture more time to heal. Maybe I can do it right next time. I sure hope so. I don't need any more injuries!

Thursday - Part 1: Bike to Work

Last week I was so excited to get out and start riding my bike to work. After three days of research and putting it off, I finally did it. Thursday I said I would set out on my bike unless it was pouring down rain. It was only a little cloudy, so off I went!

I got lost twice, in the spots I thought I would get lost. The first place was in Clintonville, where the trail ends and you have to take a few side streets to pick it up again. I sort of knew where I was, and I saw High Street in the distance, where I knew I didn't want to go unless I was totally lost. Finally, I saw several other cyclists turning a corner and going up a hill and I followed them, which turned out to be the right decision.

The second place where I got lost was at Ohio State. The Olentangy Bike trail turns into the OSU bike trail, but part of it is on sidewalks and walkways. That alone is confusing, as OSU is huge, and there are sidewalks and walkways everywhere. I had my landmarks, and advice from my fellow commuters, so I again sort of knew where I was. But the bad part was that the trail was closed and there was an incomprehensible map with a detour which did not resemble at all the detour that I found online. I ended up riding in the street in traffic until I got to King Avenue, where I spotted some landscapers on the corner and asked them if they had any idea where the bike trail was. They did! They got me right back on the path and I was good to go.

I was afraid I'd get lost heading downtown but that was a breeze. I felt a chill of excitment as I saw the buildings in the distance. It was quite a different perspective from driving! The signs were plentiful, and after I got to Broad Street I remembered the advice not to take the path that heads down to the Santa Maria, as it was a dead end. I had made it past the Confluence, and North Bank Park, and was headed past the federal courthouse. I had to ride on sidewalks but there were signs with big bikes on them so I figured I was ok.

It took me an hour and a half with all the stops to figure out where I was going. I believe it amounted to 12 miles. When I got to the bike room there was a man behind me who used his ID to swipe open the door while I held it for him. I was so excited I blurted out, "I just rode to work for the first time!"

When I got to my office, I was very sweaty but the ice cold air in the office cooled me off quickly. A baby wipe and Bath and Body Works spray, and a Clif Bar, and I was good to go.

I was a little nervous about heading home that night but I was reassured by other cyclists that the bike trail was even more well-travelled heading north at rush hour. I was sort of a celebrity that day, too, as everyone was eager to hear about the trip and couldn't believe I had traveled so far. I was on an adrenaline high most of the day. I did take time to study my maps and even printed out some directions that I stowed in my shirt on the way back, just in case.

At 5:00 I donned my riding gear and headed out. The ride back was a piece of cake. I figured out how to get out of downtown, got through the detour at OSU with no problem, and even was able to maneuver the maze in Clintonville. By the time I got to Broadmeadows bridge, I was very tired. One mile and mostly up hill to get to High Street, then north a few blocks. I did t!

As soon as I got home (it took about an hour and 15 minutes), my husband showed me my dinner and headed out the door to run. He very thoughtfully made spaghetti so I could replenish my carbs. I was so proud of me and I felt great. I sat on some frozen peas as my "seat" was very sore. Padded shorts were sounding like a great idea!

To be continued.....

Cycling: the new running?

The name of this blog is "Morgancia Runs," but the blog is truly more about me than just running. Once in a while you are treated to a small glimpse of my life, especially when I feature a funny or heartwarming story about my kids and husband.

Lately I haven't had as much time to write because my life is so busy. Wonderfully busy, and family, work and other pursuits take priority over blogging. I'm nearing 40 years old and sometimes I wonder how I got here - a wonderful and understanding husband, two delightful, energetic kids, a job that I love (most days) and a newfound interest in fitness.

Running is the best new hobby I have discovered - it takes the least amount of coordination, can get you incredibly fit in a short time, and is less expensive because the only equipment you need is your outfit - good running shoes and clothes that wick away sweat. But you can also easily injure yourself, as I found out when I got a stress fracture 6 weeks ago. After seeing the doctor and trying to get back on a walking/running program, I have had to wait another week because I have had pain in my leg.

My stress fracture has led me on another adventure - cycling to work. I keep blogging about wanting to do it, and now there is nothing to stop me but the weather...and myself. Last night I packed my backpack and took a shower and prepared some snacks. I scanned the maps of the trails I was going to take, and then...I panicked.

I biked 11.80 miles on Saturday partway down the trail and back. I got a little lost at one point but figured out where to go in very little time. That's basically how I get places. I either follow a map or get lost and find my way (this doesn't work in a city in which I'm totally unfamiliar like Cincinnati - I'm always getting lost in Cincinnati).

But getting lost in a car and getting lost on a bike seem to me to be two very different things. I feel much more vulnerable on a bike, especially on a bike path. I've only been cycling for a little while so I don't have as much confidence as I do driving, or even running.

The trail ends in a few spots and you have to ride some roads to pick it up again. Most of the streets are not heavily traveled but you still have to pay attention and this is where I fear getting lost the most.

So instead of biking to work, I chickened out. As soon as I got to work this morning, I sent an email to all of the people using our bike room. There are 80 people from 3 different state agencies using the bike room. Let me say this up front, as I did in a tweet: Ohio EPA cyclists rock. I sent out the email around 8:00 am. By 9:00 I had at least 20 email messages back, and most of them were from EPA staff who also bike to work. I received nothing but encouragment and lots of great suggestions, directions and details, including watching out for hissing geese near OSU. I had no idea! One person offered to meet me on the trail on Friday and I am taking her up on her offer.

As a runner I had not really had much exposure to cyclists except to have them say "on your left" constantly on Saturday mornings (or not and almost getting run over!), and hearing about bike/runner crashes on the trail. The emails I got back proved that there are as many cyclists who love to ride their bikes and support other cyclists as there are runners who encourage each other on every mile. Both love to welcome new people to the sport. Very cool.

So I might "suck it up" as I told one person and just ride into work tomorrow. Otherwise I'll wait til Friday since it looks like rain the rest of the week. I'm not ready to brave the rain. Yet.

But it sure is nice to ride 11 miles and not have your shins hurt. I could get used to this.