It seemed like it would be a fun time. We'd get to hang out for a couple of hours, take a leisurely 3.2 mile walk, get all sorts of dirty, what could be better? We even had tutus. Yep, you read that right. Yours truly wore a tutu (and pigtails, but I don't think you can see them in the picture).
There was definitely a party atmosphere at the starting line, with the tunes thumping and the color packs being thrown about.
Once we got out on the course (which I thought would be a leisurely stroll with my sister and turned out to be a forced march), they had color stations scattered throughout. We had a good time with the color stations. We locked arms and skipped through one, and then ran through the rest while holding our breath, because who wants to breathe that stuff in?
The theme of the race was fun, and the starting line party was fun. However, when it came to actual course management, the race was lacking. We passed no less than three people who were down and being tended to by their friends/family. I saw no course marshals or aid stations along the course.
The finish line was a cluster. I don't know if I can blame the course management for it - wait, yes I can. Races like the Color Vibe are designed to entice non-runners like myself to get out and do something active and it worked. But ... when you have a bunch of non-runners with no direction, they don't understand basic course etiquette. You know, like just because you crossed the finish line doesn't mean you get to just stop and stand there while there are still hundreds of people behind you trying to cross the line.
Maybe I got spoiled from the Bolder Boulder - they put tens of thousands of runners through a finish line without it getting clogged up.
By the time we were finished, Nebalee and I were both over the crowds and couldn't get out of there fast enough. We would have gotten out of there even faster if I hadn't buggered up my foot on the uneven ground. I've always had trouble with my feet; my lateral arch of my right foot has always given me problems, but I can usually work through it once it loosens up. Only, it kept getting worse and worse throughout the morning, to the point where I couldn't bear weight.
By God, we weren't going to miss out "after" picture, so Nebalee and I just switched sides so I didn't have to stand on my bad foot.
The pain continued to build, so I made the snap decision on my way home to stop by Urgent Care to get an x-ray. I wasn't worried so much that I'd broken my foot per se, but I was concerned that I had avulsed the tendon from the 5th metatarsal (long bone on outside of foot). The PA at Urgent Care didn't see an avulsion fracture on the x-ray and sent me on my merry way with instructions to ice and take ibuprofen (which I was already doing). Oh, and she also told me that if I felt I needed crutches, I could go rent some from WalMart.
Needless to say, I was less than pleased with my treatment. Honestly, I needed crutches and a script for pain management. I was alone and couldn't bear weight, despite proper initial management. I'm not quite sure how the hell she thought I'd be able to hobble myself into WalMart to rent crutches when I couldn't stand.
I'm far from a drug seeker - I rarely use narcotic analgesics, so when I ask for them, I have a real reason. Of course, the PA didn't know me from Adam, so I can understand where she was coming from, but it took a lot for me to admit weakness and ask for help. I left Urgent Care in pain and discouraged.
I spent the rest of the weekend alternating Advil and Tylenol and cuddling with my ice pack. I hobbled into work on Monday with my teeth clenched. Luckily, we have pediatric crutches and someone was willing to go to the other building to fetch them for me. Yes, I'm short enough that I required peds crutches.
I made an appointment to see my doc, who thought I had a stress fracture and finally wrote me for some pain meds and encouraged me to continue to use the crutches. Getting off my foot and getting my pain under control was the key to turning around my healing. By Friday, I was off the crutches and almost completely pain-free.
Happy (late) Birthday, Nebalee. I hope you enjoyed breaking me :)
