Mixing it up

Saturday I was all ready to get back into my running routine to prepare for the Shamrock Run, which is now a brief three weeks away. The running Gods had other ideas, however, and must be conspiring against me because when I got up, I immediately felt a sharp pain run down the right side of my neck and straight into my arm - then I couldn't so much as turn my head very far in either direction. Seriously, my head is locked in a tilt to the right and I have the same inquisitive expression as Kooper does when I ask him, "Do you want to go?"

In pain and panic, I checked WebMD for symptoms and it came up as follows: Pinched nerve. Disastrous. Anyone who is a hypochondriac should never use WebMD, by the way - since it gives you a long list of what it possibly could be. I'll just leave it at that. This probably was just a matter of me sleeping the wrong way, although I can only imagine that I would have had to slept in a headstand position in order to get this kind of pain as a result. Note to self: new pillows on the to-do list.

So, running was completely out of the question for Saturday. It hurt to even move, muchless bounce around. A bit distressed by my bad luck (what a drag it is getting old) and yet determined to get some sort of exercise in to combat my ever expanding back-side, I decided to take Kooper for an "urban" hike in Bend. A little R&D and exploration, not to mention a chance to get our blood pumping. So two aspirins down the hatch and off to Pilot Butte we went. How bad could that hurt?

It was a cold and overcast Saturday, but that didn't seem to stop us, or a lot of other people for that matter, from making the trek to the top of the butte. Two roads lead up. The first is a paved road for the non-hikers -- you can drive a car up, but is closed for winter so in the snowy months it doubles as a nice walking path without the stress of having someone sliding around the corner and taking you out. The road loops around the butte, obvious the "long way," until you reach the summit, which provides 360 degree views of Bend. I could see Costco from the top (sigh). The other, and the path we chose, is a trail that goes up one side of the butte, which is a bit steeper and shorter. Run off from the snow melt made it a little muddy, but other than that, it was just the right jaunt for me and the boy. We were passed, both directions, by a little old lady all in pink, with the exception of a black fuzzy russian type of hat, jogging. Mortifying.

Other than the overcast skies, the day was perfect, as were the views from the top. There are a lot of other buttes and mountains that we'll have to leave for summer exploration, but it was nice to stop for a minute and take it all in.

After hiking, Kooper thought it would be a fabulous idea to stop for a beer at one of the many local brew pubs in downtown Bend to reward ourselves for a job well done. It didn't seem like a bad idea to me. I thought it I might even find a beer with some sort of healing properties to make my neck return to normal again. In the end though, he was a little over-zealous, as none of them seemed set up for outdoor, winter dog-brew sipping.

While I wait for the arctic defrost to occur, I will spend the rest of my weekend lathered up in Ben Gay with a heating pad on my neck wondering how this happened. Hurry up Spring!