Uh oh… it’s the return of the Dumpster Fire Mug! We’ll get into that in a bit. But first, it’s August. NOOOOOOOO!!! I don’t want summer to end, but it’s drawing to a close. Of course I’m talking about the summer schedule, NOT the summer weather. More on that later as well.
Since it’s the first Friday of the month I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the this coffee date. Let’s do it!
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is, I’ve set a new PR! The bad news is, it’s a PR for the most frustrating injury ever. Once again, I had two glorious pain-free runs, and then on the third run- BAM. The calf pain is back. Just to mix things up, it’s in a slightly different place. What the…???
My husband, innocently and foolishly, suggested that maybe it would go away if I just “took some time off.” YES I KNOW THAT. As a matter of fact, why don’t I just stop running altogether? Then the problem will be solved forever. Just a word of advice- never suggest to an injured runner that the problem will be solved if they stop running. You might get your head bitten off.
I’ll go into more details in the Weekly Rundown on Sunday (bet you can’t wait for that!) so let’s move on for now. My son and I are leaving for Texas tomorrow! That’s right- we’re leaving the Florida heat for somewhere even hotter. The forecast for Waco next week is around 98 degrees every day, which is actually over ten degrees COOLER than it was last year when we were there.
This will be our fourth annual trip to Waco for the beginning of the school year, and the first year where we won’t be running all over campus with a mini fridge, getting my son’s things out of storage from his friend’s attic (did you know attics get very hot when it’s 110 degrees outside?) or moving a bed across town. No, this year my son is going back to the same house he lived in last year, where all his things have spent the summer. All we have to do is… arrive.
After the drive, I’ll have two days to relax and goof off in Waco before flying home. I’m psyched.
Let’s talk about THE OLYMPICS!!! Are you watching? I want to see more medal ceremonies! I’m pretty much just watching the prime time coverage, and maybe that’s the problem. But I remember back in the old days, all we had was prime time coverage and we used to see ALL the medal ceremonies! We even saw medal ceremonies where a USA athlete got a silver or bronze. I remember watching with my mom, and commenting on some of the other countries’ national anthems (my mom especially liked “O Canada.”)
Are you watching the Olympics? – Track and Field is starting!!!
Is it still summer for you, or are you in back-to-school mode?
32 Responses
We’re watching on Peacock, and have not seen any ceremonies, you’re right!
I’m so sorry that your calf pain is back, that SUCKS.
Thanks Julie- sigh. It’s funny because after I wrote that last night they showed the women’s gymnastics team getting their medals. But it’s the only one I’ve seen!
we are watching replay of swimming mostly. sorry to hear about the calf pain coming back. And yes, I’d hit the person to tell me to stop running to heal.
Ha, I knew a fellow runner would understand.
Your husband is so funny. Look, the calf thing came back but it’s not going to last forever. Murphy’s Law says that as soon as school starts your calf will feel great and your schedule will be cramped.
Enjoy Waco!
Ha! Okay, let’s go with that- I like that prediction.
Ugh on the calf conundrum!
We have Peacock but are watching the NBC coverage at night. It’s so frustrating, I rather having less fluff and more coverage of “other” events. The Peacock coverage is better as far as covering whole events, but sometimes loses audio.
Anyway, I love that Simone Biles wore a goat necklace and seemed so genuinely HAPPY yesterday!
Yes, she was beaming, and I loved that necklace! I actually do have Peacock but just haven’t had a chance to watch it during the day. There’s always too much fluff i the prime time coverage- I just accept it at this point.
I am watching the Olympics right now! (Tennis). I hadn’t thought about the medal presentations but you’re so right. In fact, I haven’t seen a single medal ceremony this Olympics. They used to always show coverage of the presentation and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE watching the flag go up and the anthem play. Especially Canada’s, of course, but really any country makes me happy because you know how hard they’ve worked for this moment and what a pinnacle of success.
Ugh. The calf. Jenny!!!!!! I’m so sorry. Hope it self-corrects ASAP. Enjoy the time with your son and just having to “arrive” without all the hassle of moving in things sounds lovely!
Yes, I LOVE when they raise the flag and play the national anthem! Think how those athletes must be feeling, after working so, so hard for so long. I want more of that!
Jenny, you just read that Stephen King book that takes place in Texas and now you’re traveling there!
Will you be running while you’re on the trip? Might that be the reset your calf needs? (Oh, I hope it resolves before you’re back, in any case.)
Yes, summer is slowly winding down and I’m down about that too…
Yes, I have actually been to Texas many times, so that made reading that book extra fun. I hven’t spent much time in Dallas though- it’s not painted in a very attractive light in the book.
I’m thinking of the whole trip as a “reset”, hopefully for my calf as well as everything else. We’ll see!
I don’t think it makes me a bad American to say that O Canada is a great anthem, honestly better than ours! Being a lifelong hockey fan means I’ve heard it almost as much as ours (which, as a kid, I called the Boston Bruins National Anthem).
Funny, I love our national anthem but my elementary school music teacher always said she did NOT like it- I think because it’s pretty hard to sing. She always said she thought “America the Beautiful” should be our national anthem instead.
Oh never suggest a runner should just take time off from running! Psst-it is even more annoying bc we know they are right lol. Have a safe trip and move in day with your son. It is so much easier when they go back to the same apartment!
Yes, this will be an easy move in for a change! I’m going to appreciate it because we will have a big stressful “move out” at the end of the year.
I have only occasionally seen the medal ceremonies but I’m kind of ok with that? I’d rather see the action/events and don’t need the pomp and circumstance. But it nice to see the occasional medal ceremony. I agree with your mom on Oh Canada! I’m w/ ccr – it’s better than ours.
I am sorry to hear that the calf pain is back! That is so frustrating. And I can imagine the roar that your husband’s suggestion elicited! Eeks! Best to keep your mouth shut and not offer advice to a pizzy runner who is dealing with mystery pain!
August is still solid summer for us. Paul goes back to school in September after Labor Day which I am happy about. When I was a child, I went back in mid-August so the 4th was kind of the mid-point of summer. Now the 4th is still in the early part of the summer for us. I also try to hold onto summer vibes through the month of September as it is still quite nice here. Pools are closed so we have fewer options but the lakes are still nice and warm!
You’ve got a lot of summer left if school doesn’t start till after Labor Day- ours start on the 12th (ugh.) But our summer weather will continue till November- I’ve given up on anything actually feeling seasonal here.
Still summer. Sad that it is August already.
Time off? A runner’s worst nightmare. But your hubby may be right.
Hope you enjoy Waco.
Yes. Love the Olympics.
Have fun on your road trip! The weather in Waco sounds similar to here — we’re supposed to be in the mid to upper 90s next week, but I’ll take that over 110+ degrees!
I would like to see more medal ceremonies too, I don’t think I’ve seen any yet and I feel like they used to show them a lot more.
I’m sad July is over and yesterday was the first day of school for the district I work for so summer is officially over…though obviously the summer weather is gonna stick around for a couple more months.
Oh no on the calf! I recently went to a physio (of the post twins pelvic floor type) and told her that I didn’t want to come because I was worried she would tell me not to lift heavy things and do running. She said “meh, you won’t make anything worse doing that, but you also do need to do the following (very boring) exercises if you actually want to fix yourself” which was good news to me. The general consensus I’ve had before is “just take it easy” so I was glad to find someone who was cool with “you do you” instead… basically trying to say I totally understand the urge to bite heads off anyone who says “just stop the thing that makes you YOU!”
I have not watched olympics yet. I would like to! I was hoping my kids would watch some with me but they have no interest. My son actually chose “not watching any TV” over watching olympics with me.
So sorry to hear that your calf pain persists – sadly I know all too well about re-occuring pain 🙁 Hope it resolves itself soon!
Good luck with the trip to Texas! Amazing to think that his senior year is here already.
Don’t forget to stock up at the bookstore if you’re not sure how many more times you’re going to be in Waco!
I am watching so much Olympics. Skateboarding and gymnastics have been heavy in the rotation here, but so have some of the boat racing stuff. With Peacock, we can basically watch any sport we want when we want to and I love it. We also watch Primetime coverage because I don’t have time to watch all sixteen gymnasts in the finals do all four apparatuses. Regardless, I’m all in.
OMG, your comments on the injured runner being told to take time off, LOL. We’ve all heard that nonsense from our well-meaning friends (most of whom aren’t runners). Too bad they just don’t get it! But ugh, sorry to hear about the rogue calf ….
It’s still very much summer here… I feel like we’ve just gotten started – and it will probably go into Sept/Oct.
Haha, “never suggest to an injured runner that the problem will be solved if they stop running”. Isn’t that the truth! I do hope your calf pain goes away though… even if you don’t stop running (which I know you won’t ;)).
I imagine if you knew that taking say two weeks off running it would fix your calf, then you could. Seems like the calf situation is so frustrating cos it’s not really clear what the issue is or how to fix it. So there’s no guarantee a break from running would actually fix it. Sorry you are dealing it it!
I’ve been loving the Olympics, in Australia it’s streaming on a service called Stan Sport and your comments make me realise it’s so good. All the sport including all the medal ceremonies! I love a medal ceremony, and also hearing all the anthems (not just Australia). Though I have to say it’s been fun seeing all the Australian swimmers receive their gold medals- they having a great Olympics. Stan even includes about 8 channels from other countries!
I’m so sorry to hear about your calf Jenny. That is such a pain … and very mysterious.
We watch the Olympics on our free-to-air station, and they show the medal ceremonies. If they’re mainly covering one sport, they show the medal ceremony even if there are no Aussies in it unless there is something featuring an Aussie going on live somewhere else. Our free-to-air channels also have an app-based internet offering, so you can access races and medal ceremonies on demand. We watched the 1500m heats last night. My daughter was over and she knows when everything is on.
So sorry about your calf! I had a PT once who suggested I stop running and guess what? I never went back to him. That is NOT what you tell a runner. Have so much fun in Waco with your son. The drop-off seems like it’ll be much easier thank heavens. I am LOVING the Olympics. I am seeing more medal ceremonies, but I agree, not enough. I know people screamed about hardly seeing any last time and I think they’re trying to show more but I agree. Nowhere near enough!
The Olympics! I’m having such a fun time watching them. I miss the medal ceremonies, too. I didn’t even realize I was missing them until you mentioned it. How rude!!
That is frustrating that you are dealing with an injury. I hope you get some answers soon to get rid of the pain/injury. I watched the swimming and track and field competitions yesterday. I was very impressed with the mixed relay (4x100m??). The way the Netherlands took over was simply wow.
They aren’t showing the medal ceremonies in most cases. It’s weird.
Oh, your dear, sweet husband. What was that even about?
I’ve been to Waco. While I hope you have a great time I have zero need to revisit it. Are you all in the path of Debby? She’s ruining a lot of plans up here.
I am looking forward to reading your update.
I know I’ve apologized for suggesting time off, but here’s another one. I think it’s because, for me, I have absolutely had to so many times. So I get that your experience – as a healthy, albeit occasionally-in-pain, runner – is completely different.
That said, I hope you find the right path forward, whether it’s keeping on with what you have been doing and hoping that this is a fluke (oh, wouldn’t that be nice?) or finding a new option that helps. It just sucks that nothing has helped for the long term. 😛
Never been to Waco – and I cannot believe it’s your last time taking him! YIKES!