10/14/10

I've dated a few insane women in my day.  I'm not talking about the sort of insane where you get off a roller coaster, high-five your buddies, and say, "That was insane!"  Oh no, I'm talking about broads who were just batshit crazy.  Today I realized that having a major nerve that's on the fritz is sort of like dating a loony chick.  One day it's this and the next day it's that.  Even when it's not so bad though, you kinda know in the back of your mind that it's really pretty bad.

Last night brought the odd sensation that there was ice cold water running down the back of my leg.  That was interesting.  After I got a call from work this morning and agreed to take a Grand Rapids run on my day off, I climbed out of bed to see what my crazy leg would have in store for me today.  A little pain, for starters, but nothing too bad.  I'm always a little stiff and sore in the morning anyway, so I expected it to loosen up a little once I got moving.  The catch was that there isn't a whole lot of moving to do on a Grand Rapids run.  I drive to work, sitting on my ass along the way.  I grab a truck and go get a loaded trailer, then drive to Grand Rapids, sitting on my ass along the way.  I drop the loaded trailer and grab an empty, then return to Livonia, sitting on my ass along the way.  By the time I got back, my crazy leg was working on a new set of symptoms for me.

Now my knee hurts and my calf muscle is all cramped up.  This may be the result of walking funny since I can't feel my foot, or it may just be the next step in a weird progression of symptoms from my original injury.  I don't know.  In any case, I don't like what my crazy leg is doing to me but I'm pretty curious to see what she it throws at me tomorrow.

The treadmill is off limits as long as I'm uncertain about my back.  In case I do end up having some sort of disk issue, I don't need to put my spine through any excessive pounding.  So my cardio work has to be of the low-impact variety.  Sitting on a bike, it turns out, is even less comfortable than sitting in a Mack truck.  So that's out.  The elliptical machines have seemed to work pretty well for me though.  Little or no impact, but I can still get my heart rate up and my legs moving.  I was using the ellipticals last week before the weekend of pain and then I got back on one last night with no problems.  Tonight though, not so much.  That cramping in my calf got worse within a few minutes of my starting, so I had to scrap the cardio and just knock out my shoulder workout.  (Pretty strong shoulders here though.  Ladies?)

Tomorrow's run is a pretty decent one - long enough to make a few bucks but not terribly difficult to pull off.  I'll be going to Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City.  All three stores have stock rooms that are spacious enough to handle whatever sort of deliveries I'll have to make, so I'm expecting a decent shift.  As for how I'll feel during that shift... my crazy leg will have to decide.

I'll wrap up tonight by saying thanks to those of you outside Michigan who will be chipping in for our new light rail line.  Since 2/3 of the $500,000,000 is supposed to be federal money, most of you will be paying at least a buck or two.  We appreciate it... or something.