July is here

July 8th, 2007 · No Comments

It’s a whole new month, and a whole new ballgame here. It’s been awhile since I’ve caught up on things because I’ve been waiting for some finality on an unpleasant development at the end of last month. Two weeks ago, I did my 20-mile run on a Sunday, which went really well and put me in a good mindset for the marathon. I took the day off on Monday, and did my 5-miler on Tuesday, at which point my right foot became a little sore, which wasn’t unexpected, but didn’t clear itself up. Pretty soon, couldn’t walk without pain, and I my foot doc said I might have a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal. Not good news, with the marathon a month away. I went down to Dana Point to be with Aimee’s family, and when I came back, the foot wasn’t any better, so I returned to the doctor’s and got a boot to wear around and make walking easier. The long and the short of it is that I’m probably not running the marathon anymore.

It’s hard to type those words, but it’s a little easier these days as I spent last week boxing up and pushing away my bitterness; it was a pretty crushing blow, and I spent a lot of time thinking about all of the hours of running I’ve put in over the last nine months getting ready for this event. In fact, I don’t want to think about it anymore; I had an MRI on Friday after x-rays were inconclusive, and now I’m busy trying to figure out how I’ll be getting around on our ten-day Pacific Northwest vacation which begins in less than a week. Hobbling around in an Icelandic orthopedic boot is certainly not how I imagined spending my July, but I’ll just have to deal with it. I’ll get the results of the MRI this week and see what needs to be done then.

Sunglasses kidsTwo trips to Orange County last week, one for the weekend and one for the Fourth of July holiday, were a great distraction from the marathon disappointment, and we had a great time, all eight of us, hanging out at the house, swimming in the pool, and cooking out on the patio. It was really great to see the kids, always a little more grown up each time we see them, and we had a great time playing in the pool, shooting Jack’s foam airplane, and having actual conversations, which they’re both capable of now – it’s pretty amazing.

The final activity and highlight of the week was a trip to Legoland, about 40 minutes south of where we were staying. It wasn’t Billund, Denmark, and I wasn’t ten years old, but it was still a bit of a dream come true to visit Legoland and enjoy it both for myself and through my niece and nephew.

Legoland

Legoland is a strange place, and a strange concept, but it works. You’re there because you like Legos, presumably, but beyond Miniland — the area of the park that features small-scale reproductions of skylines in Lego, including New York (complete with Freedom Tower, weird), San Francisco, and Las Vegas — it’s just a Lego veneer on your typical fairground roller coasters, kiddie rides, and food stalls. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just interesting. We spent a full day there, made possible for me at least by our rental of a Freerider scooter for me to tool around in. We all had a great time, and enjoyed the rides, some quality time at Miniland, a brief “factory tour,” a frozen root beer float, a smashed penny, and some actual Legos from the “Big Store.”

Legoland

Aimee had the whole week away, and I stayed down Wednesday through Friday, at which point her folks went home, and her brother and his family headed south for more adventures at SeaWorld. It was a nice beginning to our summer travels, though I was pretty spoiled between having a house with a pool and a motorized cart; we’ll see how the rest of the summer goes without those amenities…

More pictures of the week here.

Tags: Travel