BECAUSE KARATE

Last night was a "dark night of the body," an evening of exquisite pain. During warmup exercises at karate, I felt my left "pinky" toe "pop" when I came down on it wrong. It hurt. But, karate! As the night went on, it hurt more. But, once again, karate! I was having fun. I was learning new things. I was being challenged and trying to figure things out. When it was time to go home, my toe HURT and was visibly bruised and was swollen and didn't move.

So: ice, elevation, ibuprofen, rest.

I woke up in the early morning hours with the worst charley horse I've ever experienced in my left calf. I needed to stand up to see if the muscles would relax and stretch them out. I needed to put pressure on the toe. I was screaming through clenched teeth to keep from waking up the household.

Next: heating pad on the calf, ice pack on the toe, elevation, ibuprofen recharge, more rest.

The Wife suggested I get a pair of sandals, because my shoes were squeezing the toe, so she drove me to the store. All of the sandals contacted the toe. Then I tried on a pair of Skechers ArchFit Foamies, which are a Crocs "clone." Heaven. No contact with the toe. I can walk around with relatively little pain. Which is good, because karate! (I won't be wearing them in the dojo—I'll "buddy tape" the toe for that—but I'm hoping it accelerates the healing process.)

Now: more heat on the calf, more ice on the toe, elevation, ibuprofen, rest. And soon, karate!