After Cowtown and the run in Georgia, I went back to the Dr and he put me back in the walking boot for 4 weeks, that would be until April 3rd. At the time he said that he was disappointed that it had not improved more than it had. If it was not a lot better after this session in the boot, we may have to think about surgery. Once again I was not allowed to go to work with the boot on , so I was off for a month. After 2 week. it did not seem like there was much improvement, maybe a little but not a lot. I went back to talk to the Dr to see what my options were. If surgery was going to be necessary, then I wanted to go ahead and do it then , so I could begin the recovery period of 4-8 weeks, rather than wait a waste the time till the 4 week period was up.He told me that if surgery was required it couldn't be done until April any way because he was closing his clinic and going Spring break with his family. He had me go and do an MRI on it and and scheduled me to return at the end of the following week to discuss my options. I was frustrated, I didn't want to just sit around for that amount of time. If the surgery was going to be required then I wanted to get it over and use the time off for recovery. I decided to get a second opinion, and the new Dr told me that he didn't feel surgery was going to be required. In fact, he showed me where the stress fracture was not the problem. It had indeed been fractured, but when he mashed it during assessment, it was not painful. He said there was some inflammation and that wearing the Orthopedic inserts should fix the problem over time. He didn't think that removing the boot and beginning to walk would pose any threat to cause any further damage. I found that taking the boot off actually made it feel better.
I had a little over a week left on the 4 week time off from work and decided to get out of my apartment and go do something. I found the race in Kentucky that was tailor made for my situation. It was highly recommended in the reviews of it. It had a 4 hour time limit, so I knew I could walk the entire thing if necessary. It was on Saturday which meant I would have Sunday and Monday to drive back after the Race. Finally it was close to my friend Eddie who lives in Cadiz Kentucky, so I could get in a visit as well. I was scheduled to see Dr Baxter on Thursday, but I already knew what he was probably going to say. I canceled that Thursday appointment and told them I would come in on the 3rd as originally scheduled and I was off.
I left early Wednesday morning, and headed toward Memphis Tn. I have a friend who lives there and figured that would be a Great first stop. I had been in Memphis on my trip to Arkansas and Tennessee, and wanted to go back. I wasn't able to get in contact with my friend, and ended up staying in a room very close to Beale street in Memphis. I had a Blast in Memphis. I ate at arguably the Greatest Fried Chicken establishment in the known world, and partook in the Memphis Live Music scene.
Thursday, I drove to Cadiz and stayed with Eddie and his family and Friday I moved on to Lexington to do the race on Saturday.
The "Run the Bluegrass" was exactly what I needed. It was a medium size race that was very well organized. We started at the Horse Track in Lexington and ran a big loop through the surrounding horse farms. Friday and Sunday were both fairly warm and muggy, but the weather on race day was Optimal. Overcast and cool, rain showers were predicted, but never materialized. A Special Gift from Mother Nature. The race is billed as "One of America's Prettiest Half Marathons" and with good reason. It was the most scenic course I think I have ran on. The dogwood trees were all in bloom and made the peaceful early morning run very tranquil and totally Therapeutic. Other than the aid station volunteers, there were no spectators to cheer you on. If you have been following my stories, you know that is fine with me. It was a fabulous run on a fabulous course and there is very little that I would have changed about it. It was pretty hilly, and I did have some issues with my foot. I found it painful to run uphill, plus I was untrained. I hadn't been running at all, and began by walking up hills and running down them, rather than try to keep run/walk schedule in minutes. I was doing well until about the middle of the race when I foot started getting tight, so I stopped running at all and just walked a while. Eventually it felt better and I again started to run the downhills, and very short stretches that were level. I was close to finishing under 3 1/2 hours, but barely missed it at 3:31;48. This race reinforced the reason why I want to do the 13.1 in 50. It was a Magic Elixor that re energized my desire to continue this 50 state quest.
I would give it a 5 star rating except that there was no beer at the finish line. That is the only disparaging thing I have to say. It was the very minimum deduction, as I was able to find beer at a little store next to my room, so all was good. There are SO Many good things to say about this race. There was a massage tent at the end and they were still operating after I left, which is saying quite a bit. Most finish line don't stay up as long as "Run the Bluegrass" did.
There was a bonus on this trip, as the NCAA Final Four was going on. Lexington is the home of the University of Kentucky, and UK was playing Louisville, which was one of their big rivals. After the race I watched the game in one of the local Sports Bars and enjoyed the excitement of the Wildcat crowd. The next day there were reports of crowd violence, fire being set and cars turned over, but I didn't see any of that. The whole trip was nothing but the Best Case Scenarios.
