It’s my own stupid fault.

I saw the black hose snaking along the path where I was running. I did see it.

Sometimes I’m accused of not watching where I’m stepping. Apparently, once when we were going for a walk on a red-earth, pot-hole-ridden path in rural Kenya, a rat allegedly ran over my foot and I didn’t notice. Not sure how I missed that – the heat? The distractions of all the insects and vegetation snapping out at me? The fact that I’m from rat-free Alberta so I don’t even know what a rat looks like?*

But I saw the hose. I was veering off to a park bench to adjust my laces and somehow managed to step right on top of it, twisting my foot. In retrospect, maybe I should have aborted the run and turned around but I shook it off and kept running.

Then, after lunch and icing my foot (pain but not much swelling), I took my daughter to the mall, thinking the walking might be good for it. Maybe not. The only good thing that came out of the mall trip was a visit to Teavana. So I’m sitting on the couch, nursing my foot, drinking White Ayurvedic Chai Tea and reading a book that I’ve been meaning to for about 20 years – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Running might be on hold for a few days.

Image credit

*Earlier this spring as I was walking along one of the paths where I run (alongside a pond) I saw what I thought must be a rat swimming and freaked out. We’re seriously not supposed to have any in Alberta! I had my camera with me so I snapped a couple of pictures to figure out what it was. Turns out it was a muskrat. Relief.