Now that the cold has more or less subsided and my foot is getting better, I decided to try a few short runs this week. Nothing too taxing, just 20 minutes or so at a time, on the treadmill. I'll see what the doctor says about my foot next week. It does hurt a bit when I run, but not like before.
The goal now is to not let it get re-infected. Going too hard, too soon - which I am prone to do, could bring back that infection, so I have to be sensible.
Speaking of being sensible, I met with my Ph.D. supervisor yesterday. He was helpful and clear about keeping me on track. Grad students going off on tangents that lead no where is common. He has no intention of letting that happen to me. He said, "I want you on the job market by this time next year." And a few minutes later he said, "Start writing. You have enough to begin, at least."
OK, so now I have a goal. I like goals. I need them, actually. I felt relieved and re-focussed after we met. He's a really, really good supervisor and I know I'm lucky to have someone like that guiding me along.
I also finally told him about my foot, the infection, the cold and generally being a bit wiped out from it all (and hence less productive).
His response was, "You ran 32 kilometres with a hole in your foot? What program are you in again? Right, a Ph.D. Need I remind you that people who do PhDs are supposed to be reasonably smart?"
OK, OK, I guess I deserved that. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do my first 20-miler with the an open, oozing wound on the sole of my foot. But we learn by doing, right?
And to answer Michelle's question, I think it was the wound created by the chemotherapy, not the wart itself, that was infected. This topical chemo kills everything in its path, coring out a hole deep into the flesh. Imagine a really corrosive cream that eats away at whatever it touches. It's like that. I applied it with a Q-tip, but even then, some healthy tissue surrounding the wart was killed off. It was this cored out little open wound that was affected.
Anyway, enough of all that.
I am feeling better overall. The foot is healing. My work is progressing.
And I still have my eye on that half marathon in April. It's all good.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
And that is good to hear - that it is all good. Glad you are back on track. It's also great that you have such a wonderful supporter in your supervisor!
Good to hear you're making progress on all fronts!
Good to hear seems to be a theme in the comments so far. It sounds like you have a helpful supervisor.
Glad to hear that your supervisor was able to help you refocus your efforts. That's what he's there for. He came through and so will you.
Dr. Sarah Elane has a nice ring to it! I know you really want to run that 1/2 marathon but remember that you will have many more opportunities to run such events after receiveing your Doctorate.
Keep an eye on that foot and stay healthy!
Trail Scat
Post a Comment