... you drop a giant log on the top of your foot and your first thoughts are not, "ouch" or, "that hurt," but "Crap, I won't be able to run!"

We had a giant, half-dead maple tree taken down on Wednesday. We were cleaning up the debris and loading the wood into my husband's truck bed when I dropped a log -- probably the size of my thigh -- and it landed vertically on the top of my foot.

When I caught my breath after a few seconds, I managed to gasp to my husband, "Can you get me a flexible ice pack? Quick. I have to stop the swelling so I can run Saturday. Hurry! Bring some I.B., too!" (Ibuprofen is a runner's best friend).

The ice pack and I.B. seemed to work and swelling was kept to a minimum. Today, it's a little puffy and very black and blue. I'm sure it's not broken, but it's bruised.

And, yet, I can't help wondering...will I be able to (should I) run tomorrow?

A runner's mind is a scary thing, isn't it?

What can you learn from my injury?
* Don't wear old running shoes when you're doing work that could crush your little piggies
* Always have an ice pack in the freezer and I.B. in the medicine cabinet.
* Pay the tree guy to haul the wood away.