This is the two weeks of July in which baseball intersects running for me each summer. I just finished up this afternoon umpiring 17 games in 9 days for our local district Little League baseball tournaments for various age levels. It makes for a lot of late nights but also a lot of fun as my local umpiring colleagues and I attempt to give the 10 through 12 year old All-Stars from communities in an eight county area a good baseball experience. It also gave new meaning to the term "intersects."
Last Wednesday night, I worked two games, got home late, showered and tiredly plunked one of my three bags of umpire gear on our bedroom floor. (Note: if you've never been around a baseball umpire, it is hard to imagine just How Much Stuff one needs. Yes, I have three bags of umpire gear. Yes, most of it smells funny too.) Sometime in the night, I got up to go to the bathroom. On my sleepy walk to crawl back into bed, I whacked my left little toe on the hard corner of the Bag 'o Stuff. Wow, it hurt, but I managed not to wake up my sleeping wife. Back to sleep.
On Thursday mid-morning at work, in my Official Business Person Leather Shoes, I started to notice my left foot hurting badly. I could not figure out why. I replayed several incidents from the previous night's game. Was it a foul tip that hit me? No. Did I jam my foot when running down to cover third base? Couldn't remember it. But, wow, the the foot hurt. Only at the end of the day, when I was changing socks to go umpire again did I see the very red, swollen, angry-looking little toe did I remember the bump in the night. I guess I really was sleepy when it happened.
So, I gimped through seven more baseball games. For the most part, it wasn't a big factor in umpiring, though I had a few cases where I forgot and tried to brake and pivot on the left foot and was instantly reminded of the injury. I did try to run, though, on Friday morning, because the schedule called for 5 miles. And I like to keep my schedule, just like Darrell does. Out the door I went. And a quarter mile into the warm up, it was very obvious that pounding the swollen pinkie was a non-starter. Nothing I could do but let this thing heal up. So, I also had to skip the scheduled 7 one-mile intervals set for Saturday. And I like that workout. But it was a no-go.
The toe is getting better each day, so I'm hoping to run again this week, but we'll see. 20 miles are on tap for next Saturday... another much-loved distance.
Man, if this is the worst problem I ever have, I'm really blessed. And, at the same time, I clear the floor now before I go to bed.
Persevere. Through whatever bumps happen in your night.
5 comments:
Like I said - fluids in = fluids out! ;-)
Good thing it was your toe that hith the bag o stuff rather than your lovely wife's. I sure would have gotten a scolding over that.
Take care, Joe. But from a wife's perspective that's what happens when you leave your stuff laying around. I do hope it feels better soon.
Hope the toe heals up for your 20 miler!
No sympathy from this crowd. You are being admonished for being messy :-) You will have to talk to me someday about how to become a baseball umpire. I am looking for something to do between seasons, either basketball, baseball, or both...
Hope it's better soon Joe! Who knew how important a little toe is? Seems like it just hangs out at the end of the foot doing nothing until you hurt it, then you find out it does something! I'm not sure what but if you feel it when you pivot and run, then it must, right?
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