I had set my alarm for 5 am to get a run in before heading to the airport. With nary a “snooze,” I got out the door and pounded the pavement… until it pounded back.
About a mile into my intended 10 miler, something happened to my left ankle. I didn’t roll it, it wasn’t a bad foot fall that I could point to. It just… hurt. Something went wrong and every step felt like a disgruntled former lover or business partner had purchased a dark web Kevin voodoo doll and was twisting a knitting needle into my Achilles.
I hobbled along, hoping to work the kink out… only to slow to a standstill and ultimately a retreat. It was a long, slow, and dare I say painful trip back.
But I did stumble upon this shiny object in the crosswalk. At first I passed right by it but something made me turn around and retrace a few limped steps to pick it up. I had figured it might be a nickel or a quarter and at least I’d have something positive to show for this morning’s efforts. What I discovered was that it was a flattened, goldish hued metal. Perhaps it had been a Krugerrand… but for now it looked like it had been placed on a train track and run over repeatedly. I suppose LA does have a subway these days… but there aren’t a lot of trains nearby.
A good luck charm? A monetary metaphor for my once mighty ankle rendered incapacitated by unseen forces? Or just one of those things, the very definition of inexplicable?
The one true thing of the morning? It was a terribly slow and painful slog.
