Was It Worth It?
Was it Worth it?
Kara winced as she rolled the little foam roller up and down her left arch; plantar fasciitis was not fun.
Plantar fasciitis was the inflammation of the plantar fascia, the band of thick fibrous connective tissue on the heel bone. Not a serious injury; only requiring some icing, massaging, and a little rest. But rest was something she couldn’t have – there was no time. Her race was in an hour.
“Hey Karebear! Catch!”
Kara looked up at the sound of her nickname being verbalized, smiling as she recognized the object flying toward her. Her little brother complained of its smell. Her mother complained of the stains it left on the carpet. And her father? He liked to complain about the fact the cashier of their local Shoppers Drug Mart now called him “Mr. Mortrin”. And herself? She loved Motrin Active Pain Relief Rub; it was her lifesaver.
“You want me to rub it in for you?”
“What do you think? Get your skinny flat butt over”
“Careful there Rossi! Hurt my feelings and I’ll leave you to rub that in yourself!”
She turned slightly as she felt a presence at her shoulder, smiling she handed the little bottle of muscle cream to her teammate, “You know you love me.”
Rob smirked at her before retorting, “Only because you make the best brownies ever.”
“Fatass.”
“Be nice before I walk away!”
Rob Demoins, or “Fatass” as she liked to call him was one of her best friends. Fellow member of her cross country team, the two of them were thick as thieves as they have known each other since the good days in kindergarten. He was her training buddy, her best friend, her brother, and her rock –
“Eeek, that hurt,” wincing again she leaned back as Rob pressed against a particularly tight spot on her arch.
Sometimes she wondered if it was worth it. Double digit hours, countless kilometres, hundreds of dollars every single week. It was a part-time job and more. It pushed her over the brink both physically and mentally. Was it worth it?
“Tap, tap, tap”
Kara looked up as she heard the familiar sound of a pair of spikes being tapped against each other. Annoying to some but never to another runner, the sound of spikes tapping against each other signified the motion of moving past the previous race and focusing on the possibility of the upcoming race. Some runners felt it was the sound of fall but to her it was the sound of hope.
Glancing at her watch she realized the racing was approaching. Smiling her thanks at Rob she leaned over and grabbed a roll of tape out of her bag – time to tape up her toes.
She grimaced a bit as she looked at the blisters that lined the end of her pinky toes from where she had forgotten to tape them the last race. Was it really worth it?
The memories of missing her little brother’s grade 8 graduation in favour of going to Provincials flooded her mind. Instead of attending her Nana and Gramps’ 40th anniversary she had opted to attend qualifiers in Ottawa. Missed her niece’s baptism because she had been on a bus heading down for a meet. She had missed a lot.
She wondered how she had done it, missed so much. If she could continue doing it, pushing herself to unknown limits. If it was worth it?
Gasping in shock Kara let her hand room around her hefty running bag again before conceding and letting her eyes take in the interior of her bag. She felt her heart beating faster and sweat beginning to form as she stared at the empty spot of her bag where her spikes should be waiting for her.
“Wow, you were more out of it than I thought”
Kara glanced up in shock as she heard her teammate, Dani, approach her.
Dani smirked down at her, dangling a pair of very familiar, very pink spikes with a super familiar wave-like logo. Her Saucony Shays. That little devil.
“I thought I would do you a favour and clean them up for you. I saw that you were out of it and well, I thought you should focus on clearing up that arch rather than having to clean your spikes.”
“You’re the best bud.”
“I thought I was the best!” Rob called out from the picnic table.
“I’m obviously the best” a new voice joined in.
Annie came over and give her a quick hug, “You ready go? You ready to go kick some butt”
Kara took a deep breath, was she ready? Was she ready to keep doing what she did every single day of her life? Was she ready to give everything up for a few minutes, just to chase down and push her limits? She glanced around her, her teammates smiling their encouragement – they knew what she was experiencing, for each and every one of them faced this type of situation at least once a day.
Feeling their love and encouragement graze on her shoulders, Kara double-checked the knot of her laces was tied before standing back up, “I’m ready”.
“Who are we?”
“We are winners!”
“What do we do?”
“We win!”
“Let’s what?”
“Let’s run!”
Glancing at the wide expanse of land before her, the stretch she was now about to cover, Kara smiled – it was going to be worth it.
Plantar fasciitis was the inflammation of the plantar fascia, the band of thick fibrous connective tissue on the heel bone. Not a serious injury; only requiring some icing, massaging, and a little rest. But rest was something she couldn’t have – there was no time. Her race was in an hour.
“Hey Karebear! Catch!”
Kara looked up at the sound of her nickname being verbalized, smiling as she recognized the object flying toward her. Her little brother complained of its smell. Her mother complained of the stains it left on the carpet. And her father? He liked to complain about the fact the cashier of their local Shoppers Drug Mart now called him “Mr. Mortrin”. And herself? She loved Motrin Active Pain Relief Rub; it was her lifesaver.
“You want me to rub it in for you?”
“What do you think? Get your skinny flat butt over”
“Careful there Rossi! Hurt my feelings and I’ll leave you to rub that in yourself!”
She turned slightly as she felt a presence at her shoulder, smiling she handed the little bottle of muscle cream to her teammate, “You know you love me.”
Rob smirked at her before retorting, “Only because you make the best brownies ever.”
“Fatass.”
“Be nice before I walk away!”
Rob Demoins, or “Fatass” as she liked to call him was one of her best friends. Fellow member of her cross country team, the two of them were thick as thieves as they have known each other since the good days in kindergarten. He was her training buddy, her best friend, her brother, and her rock –
“Eeek, that hurt,” wincing again she leaned back as Rob pressed against a particularly tight spot on her arch.
Sometimes she wondered if it was worth it. Double digit hours, countless kilometres, hundreds of dollars every single week. It was a part-time job and more. It pushed her over the brink both physically and mentally. Was it worth it?
“Tap, tap, tap”
Kara looked up as she heard the familiar sound of a pair of spikes being tapped against each other. Annoying to some but never to another runner, the sound of spikes tapping against each other signified the motion of moving past the previous race and focusing on the possibility of the upcoming race. Some runners felt it was the sound of fall but to her it was the sound of hope.
Glancing at her watch she realized the racing was approaching. Smiling her thanks at Rob she leaned over and grabbed a roll of tape out of her bag – time to tape up her toes.
She grimaced a bit as she looked at the blisters that lined the end of her pinky toes from where she had forgotten to tape them the last race. Was it really worth it?
The memories of missing her little brother’s grade 8 graduation in favour of going to Provincials flooded her mind. Instead of attending her Nana and Gramps’ 40th anniversary she had opted to attend qualifiers in Ottawa. Missed her niece’s baptism because she had been on a bus heading down for a meet. She had missed a lot.
She wondered how she had done it, missed so much. If she could continue doing it, pushing herself to unknown limits. If it was worth it?
Gasping in shock Kara let her hand room around her hefty running bag again before conceding and letting her eyes take in the interior of her bag. She felt her heart beating faster and sweat beginning to form as she stared at the empty spot of her bag where her spikes should be waiting for her.
“Wow, you were more out of it than I thought”
Kara glanced up in shock as she heard her teammate, Dani, approach her.
Dani smirked down at her, dangling a pair of very familiar, very pink spikes with a super familiar wave-like logo. Her Saucony Shays. That little devil.
“I thought I would do you a favour and clean them up for you. I saw that you were out of it and well, I thought you should focus on clearing up that arch rather than having to clean your spikes.”
“You’re the best bud.”
“I thought I was the best!” Rob called out from the picnic table.
“I’m obviously the best” a new voice joined in.
Annie came over and give her a quick hug, “You ready go? You ready to go kick some butt”
Kara took a deep breath, was she ready? Was she ready to keep doing what she did every single day of her life? Was she ready to give everything up for a few minutes, just to chase down and push her limits? She glanced around her, her teammates smiling their encouragement – they knew what she was experiencing, for each and every one of them faced this type of situation at least once a day.
Feeling their love and encouragement graze on her shoulders, Kara double-checked the knot of her laces was tied before standing back up, “I’m ready”.
“Who are we?”
“We are winners!”
“What do we do?”
“We win!”
“Let’s what?”
“Let’s run!”
Glancing at the wide expanse of land before her, the stretch she was now about to cover, Kara smiled – it was going to be worth it.