Orthopedist appointment invokes Murphy's Law

 

I cannot remember the last time I've run, but it was at least three weeks ago. Since then, my workouts have been done on the elliptical machine. It's a fair trade-off, but not an equal one. I know I've lost fitness as a result. While I've wanted to return to running, I've been concerned about further aggravating what I'm calling a piriformis issue. I wish I could be more specific about the cause of this soreness. Unfortunately my opportunity to get a diagnosis today was taken away by an incompetent receptionist.

Most people are familiar with "Murphy's Law," the idea that if something bad can happen, it will. That law has been in full effect today, starting with news from our electrician that the cost to bring our pool electrical system up to code will be five times what we expected. And we'd expected it to be a lot. Next it was the plumber, who informed us that the cost to replace our leaky shower fixture will be double our expectation. We have to stop inviting these people to our house.

A little later, I received a message that the cool new fitness equipment that I'm helping to test (they're no-impact treadmill alternatives) will be delivered late. I was counting on having access to this gear so I could do workouts that match running intensity without inviting further injury. The stuff is coming, but I'll need to wait a couple of more weeks to start the program.

The worst of it was when I arrived at the orthopedist this afternoon, after waiting three weeks for my appointment, only to find that the doctor wasn't in. Apparently they'd tried to call me to reschedule, but the person who made the appointment had recorded my number incorrectly. So, after looking forward to some type of resolution of this problem, it's still a mystery. I still don't know if I should be running on it, but my patience has grown short.

I'm going to try a run this weekend, either on the treadmill or around my neighborhood. I don't think I've run on pavement since January and I don't expect it to be easy. I plan to take it very easy and stop if the soreness goes past moderate discomfort. I'll make another doctor's appointment and will hopefully be able to schedule it soon. But I'm going to lay low for the rest of today and let Murphy find someone else to bother.