Dumb!

I pulled a muscle in my right calf last night. :-(

Jason was saying he could jump really high without bending his knees—if he's in the swimming pool. This was in reference to a conversation/contest we had a few weeks ago, when he asked if I could jump without bending my knees at all. It just so happens that I am very good at jumping without bending my knees, having learned it in ballet class when I was about 13. What you do is pull up all your muscles tight to your center—tighten the back and tummy, squeeze the butt cheeks, pull up the legs—and then you just point your feet hard. So, in slow motion, you would rise up on the balls of your feet, and then keep going, pushing off with your toes. That last little push from your toes propels you into the air, and you can just bounce up off the ground, doing it over and over again—like a bouncy ball.

So last night I told Jason it was cheating to do it in the swimming pool. Then Lindsey started jumping, but she was bending her knees slightly. So I stood up to show them how it's really done. I got in six or seven jumps, but then I think I shifted positions too fast—my weight wasn't centered right. And as I went up I felt a terrible "POP"—like a violin string breaking—in the back of my leg. Pulled the muscle for sure. Bruce got me up to bed, and got the leg propped up and put it on ice. I was very sad; not just because it hurts—and it does, a lot!—but because that was a really dumb way to injure myself.

Since then I haven't been able to walk properly. In fact, this morning it is hurting all the way up my hamstrings, and my toes feel tingly—which is really annoying! I can't straighten the leg, or flex the muscle. I have a wonderful limp—and to get around I have to keep my leg slightly bent and keep up on my toes, supporting myself heavily on countertops, walls, furniture . . .

Well I looked online. Rest, ice, compression and elevation for at least the next two weeks, and then I can start working at being as good as new. What a drag!

Dumb!