Running is something I only did if I was trying to catch a bus or chase a two year old to keep him from running to a busy street. (Said child is now 21 but still largely dismisses me as someone who doesn't have the slightest bit of knowledge to the ways of the world. He'll learn.) I have always wanted to be a police officer but my disdain for propelling myself forward at a fast pace hindered me from applying. I also came up with many excuses as to why the life of a cop might not be for me: "I have a young son", "I don't like getting yelled at" (thinking about the six months in the academy) , "What if I got shot?", "I want to be a teacher", "I'm too busy with work", and the list goes on. I no longer have a young son. I get yelled at quite often by obnoxious customers. A bulletproof vest and proper training will lower my chances of being shot. I can teach in any area of my life. I'm still busy with work but I've become accustomed to budgeting my time well. I have no valid excuse.
In July 2012, I was on a ride along with a good friend of mine who is a member of my fair city's K9 unit, a detail for which I've always held an immense amount of interest. I had been on several ride alongs with him and, though some days were slow and not much happened, I had a keen interest in the job as a whole. I asked a lot of questions - "What's the difference between a 459 and a 211?" (459 is a burglary, while a 211 is a robbery, in case you were wondering. Even if you weren't, now you know.), "In what circumstance would you deploy the dog?", "What do you look for while you're driving around?" He knew that I had been interested in being an officer but was also aware of my reasons for never having applied. At the end of the ride along in July, he told me I needed to reconsider becoming a cop. He told me I had good instincts, was good with people, and that the department needed more females with the ability to show compassion, yet also be a hardass if the situation called for it. It seems women and children feel more comfortable speaking to a female officer in certain circumstances and some men are reluctant to give a female officer a difficult time when she shows strength. When I started to protest by saying, "Yeah, but it's just all the...", he interrupted with "Yeah, yeah, it's 'all the fucking running' ", something I had said many times in the past. He told me to get over it and that I would only need to do it for six months in the academy and never again if I chose to not do so. I went home and I thought about it. The next day I asked him what the chances were of a 42 year old female getting on with the department. His reply: "GOOD." I spoke with another friend who was a lieutenant with the Sheriff's Department and told him of my intent. His reply was "Finally!"
So, I started running. I ran a block. It hurt. I walked for three. I ran another block. It hurt more. I walked three more blocks. I ran two blocks. I was out of breath. I had considered myself to be in great shape. I cycled daily. I did yoga. I went paddleboarding or kayaking at least every other day. I rock climbed. I rollerbladed. I walked dogs for a living. I wrangled a 200lb Saint Bernard on a daily basis. So why was this running thing so tough? I decided to not let my experience that day deter me from my chosen career path. Two days later, I ran again. Upon the suggestion of a friend who also had trouble when she began running, I ran a block, then walked a block. I did that for a total of 14 blocks. Not fun, but I did it. And I did it again a few days later. UNTIL...the shin splints. Aside from childbirth, which ended after eight hours, I had never experienced a more excrutiating pain. Then came the swollen ankle. Two weeks later - and no running - both had settled so I got back into it, only to develop shin splints yet again. It boggled my mind to hear others tell stories of being a beginning runner and absolutely loving it. They didn't get shin splints. They didn't have ankle problems. What was I doing wrong? I began to wonder if I could beg the powers that be at the police academy to consider letting a 20 mile bike ride at full power be the equivalent of running 1.5 miles for the physical ability test (the P.A.T.). (They won't.)
Fast forward to November. I passed my written exam for the California Police Officer Standards Training with flying colors. I was invited to take the P.A.T., which consisted of running 300 feet to a 6ft wall, going over said wall, running along a 6ft balance beam, dummy drag of a 165lb dummy (all within two minutes), as many pushups (up to 40) as one could do, and a 1.5 mile run. The run, preferably, needed to be completed within 12 minutes but no more than 17. That's an eight minute pace and I had managed to get myself down to a nine. If I had just been required to do the run, I might have done well, but with aforementioned activities just prior to the run, I was tired. Unfortunately, I didn't make it over the wall and had some trouble on the dummy drag but was given the opportunity to go back in three days to retest - more on that in a moment. I did the run in 15.2 minutes. Not great but at least I wasn't DFL (Dead Fucking Last). As for the wall, I just couldn't plant on that sweet spot that enabled me to swing my leg high enough to pull myself over. By the time I got the the dummy, my mind was still back at the wall trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong so I lost focus. I scheduled my retest and practiced for the next few days. I got the dummy drag down. My preferred technique became to grab him by the feet and pull him, rather than attempt to grab him around the torso and lift. Hey, whatever works. The wall still gave me a tough time. I was overthinking it and kept failing. Friends tried to help me but their techniques didn't work when I applied them. My last practice attempt found me with a searing pain in my left quad so my friend suggested we stop, ice it, and rest for my retest the following day. I hardly slept because my nerves were on edge. I went to the academy the next morning and began my 300ft run toward the wall. Three strides in and not only did my quad pain from the night before resurface, but the right leg decided to join in the fun. BOTH legs were on fire but I pushed on, do or die. I foot planted on the wall...and the pain hit like a ton of brick. Someone might as well been carving away at my quads with a knife that was in need of a good sharpening, thus taking longer and hurting more. I had over-trained and hadn't gotten enough rest. I didn't make it over for the second time and was disqualified. Diagnosis: Grade 2 quad tears in both legs. I was out of not only running for four to six weeks but cycling, as well.
Not discouraged, I decided to apply for the Sheriff's Department. My chances of becoming a K9 handler - my goal - are greater with SO than with PD so, while disappointed I didn't make it into the city's police academy, things might work out better for me in the end. After sufficient healing, I was back to running. I started working with Chi Running instructor and discovered what I was doing wrong. The techniques are so incredibly simple but not many people really think of them. I was one of those people. Everything was going quite well until I woke up one day and the ball of my left foot was hurting. The ball of my foot was incredibly sore and it felt like I had a marble taped to it when I walked. The top of my foot was swollen at the second toe joint. Strangely, it didn't hurt when I ran - I plant with my forefoot, just above the area that was hurting. My ankle also began to swell and putting weight on my heel was almost unbearable.This went on for about three weeks when I decided enough was enough and made an appointment with a podiatrist. An MRI showed I had capsulitis of the second metatarsal and subsequent fluid buildup INSIDE the heel bone from heel striking too hard in order to keep pressure off the forefoot, putting it at risk of expansion and a possible resulting break. I didn't even know that was possible. Upon doing some Google research, I discovered that folks with a longer second toe like I have are prone to capsulitis. Check it out: somewhat boring, yet informative medical speak
So now, I'm rockin' this baby:
Sexy, isn't it? I was hoping it would get me to the front of the line at Doheny Blues Fest a couple of weeks ago but no dice. I'm now hoping I'll get an all clear from the doc in the next week or two so I can lace up the Newtons and get back to what will no doubt be a bit of a snail's pace but at least I'll be running again.
That's a good thing, right? RIGHT?!?!?
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