Run, Run, Waddle

December 30th I received a call from one of my closest friends: 

• her: Hey, wanna do the Reno Tahoe Odyssey?
• me: Sure, what's that?
• her: We run from Reno to Truckee, around Lake Tahoe, over to Carson City and back to Reno as a relay team of 12 and we need more people.
• me: OK.

January 2nd. Run. Success. I did not fall, trip or stumble. I ran the entire course. I will be ready to run the relay in the fall, if the relay was in the fall. The relay is the end of May, 2015 --just five months from now. I will commit to run daily.
January 3rd. Is this my body? I cannot move. I want to get out of bed, but my legs are screaming "NO". My ankles are not rotating. I cannot reach my toes to count if they're still there. Five months. I pour out of bed. Reach for my toes once more. Almost. Coffee will fix this. I harness Theo, my puppy, who seems completely unaffected by yesterday's run. Secretly I'm jealous. I put the spikes on my running shoes-I will be on snow and ice today. I decide to walk to start. When I get to the snow I begin to run. I have to stop to allow the dog to do his business, ahh, rest. Run. Stop again for Theo to mark a tree, ahh, more rest. Run. Stop a third time just to stop, but I will blame it on the dog since no one is watching to question. Ahh, rest. Waddle for another 2 miles. Home. Juice. Once again, I can no longer touch my toes. Five months?

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