RICE Method

There was no doubt I had strained my calf during yesterday’s run as the area became very sore throughout the day. I did take a proactive approach and implemented the Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (RICE) method. The ice works wonders at alleviating the inflammation and I do find this more effective than just taking ibuprofen. I can say ever since my return to the “free world” I have watched my intake of even aspirin. I think this has to do with me being extremely cautious and also goes to the fact that I have not had an alcoholic drink during this same period. I used to live on ibuprofen when I first starting running marathons but now I found more effective methods such as the RICE method also I don’t like what the ibuprofen does to my kidneys. There are times where I can’t get “going” and there are other times where I can stop “going”. I am better off refraining and seeking those alternative methods.

Keeping in the spirit of the RICE method I was not going to run this morning and tomorrow was certainly in doubt. I do believe it is more of a strain as opposed to the bout of tendinitis I had nearly four years ago. The tendinitis was a huge discomfort because I stop running marathons for nearly two years and those were two terrible years. The two years following those years were much better even though I was in a place I never thought I would be in a million years; however; this is exactly the way it needed to be for me to finally get help for my addiction. I am eternally grateful and I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t say that being away from my family for those two years wasn’t a drastic measure because it was. Anyhow thankfully in recovery I realize that as long as I continue this path I won’t ever have to be in a place like that again.

This morning I enjoyed the benefits of working at home through and through. I didn’t venture out to the gym but I did take my bicycle to the bagel store. Yes, my calf was good enough to ride a bicycle and it felt great to get on my bike. The bagel store isn’t very far from my house and as I dropped the children off at school I continued over the hill to the store. It was interesting because I have gone to this store with my children on their bicycles and it has taken awhile but this morning I was back in the house in less than 30 minutes. I took the long way going which encounters a very nice hill and I can see the benefits of riding of bicycle over the pounding of running. I could feel my lungs and legs working as I climbed the hill without tearing my calf muscle. This may have NOT been part of the RICE method but I enjoyed the quick jaunt to the bagel store.

I came home and had a very nice breakfast with my wife. Yes, my wife is still searching for a job and I think she will be searching for awhile in this wonderful economy of ours. She has sent out so many resumes I have lost count (actually it is me that has sent out the resumes) and has yet to get a call back for a resume. She has gone to an employment agency that just referred her to a few other employment agencies. My wife is a great worker because she is such a loyal employee. When we moved to Las Vegas she worked for on employer in the 8 years we lived there while I had four employers. She is the kind of employee I would love to hire because she gets the job done and really cares about what she is doing. There is some times where I think her care level is a bit too high since she loses sleep over things she is thinking about. I know everything will continue to work out for the very best and what will happen is all part of the plan.

One of the benefits of working at home emerged today as I didn’t get out of my sweats all day. Normally I have somewhere to go and do dress in a professional manner but today I had a tentative meeting planned and the meeting was taken of care of via the telephone and the internet so there was no need for “professional” dress today. I have to admit this was very nice to get work done while at home and not having to worry about being properly dressed. Everything went very well today and I was able to accomplish all of my tasks.