A (hopefully) short stint on the D.L.

That's "disabled list" for those of you who don't get the baseball reference. I did something dumb, not major, but dumb.

I keep track of my mileage. Every run and every cross- training workout (yoga, weights, spinning) goes into my dog-eared notebook. No app or web site for me. It's one of my old-fart quirks.

I also keep track of the mileage on my shoes for wear and tear purposes -- for me, 300 to 325 miles means it's time for new shoes. At $100 a pop, ugh. It's also fun to think about (okay maybe just fun to me) what each pair of shoes accomplished -- this most recent pair ran a half marathon in January and set a new personal record (P.R.) of 2:04. (Woot!)

I pushed those shoes to 400 miles at the same time I have been running faster -- runs averaging 10 minute miles or less.

Guess what, dummy?

You're on your way to an injury.

Last week, for my birthday, my parents sent me a card and a gift card. I couldn't get my butt to the running store fast enough, picking up new shoes. That morning I had run six miles at a 9:22 pace, tough for me but I did it. And my ankle was growling. No prob, new shoes will fix.

I ran 12 last Saturday, two days later, in my new shoes. My ankle was grousing a little. By the time I was done, the ankle, calf and outside thigh were singing the blues.

So dumb.

I have since been icing, stretching, and not running -- yoga and weights/cardio dvds are substituting. To non-runners that sounds crazy -- so what if you don't run for a few days? Big fat deal.

It's not the not-running part that bugs me. It's the I-hope-I-didn't-do-anything-too-bad-when-will-it-be-better-so-I-can-run-again uncertainty.

I am not patient. I use every patient fiber in my body dealing with my kids, which leaves me short-changed in the rest of my life. I need a patience bank somewhere where I can start saving up. You know, like I'm supposed to save one millionty dollars between now and when M-man goes to college in 14 years.

I have a half in three weeks. My goal is to crack the two-hour mark. Which means it is not time to do something stupid.

I am going to be patient. I am going to be patient. I am going to be patient...