It only hurts when I stand. Or sit. Or bend over.

Yesterday morning I slipped on some brick steps that were slick courtesy of some rain the night before and landed squarely on my tailbone. Considering that it could have been much worse--I could have tumbled head over heels, broken my neck or other extremities, scarred up my face, etc.--I am thankful to have survived with only a bruised up tailbone and scraped and bruised elbow.

Still, this tailbone business is no joke. I haven't been to the doctor--I figure they can't do anything for it anyway besides maybe tell me for sure if it's actually broken or just badly bruised--so I'm trying to nurse it with cold and heat. I've acquired a donut pillow that has helped keep me from crying when I'm sitting down and I was, miraculously, able to sleep pretty well on my side last night.

The hardest part, I've quickly discovered, is standing up. I've had to give myself little pep talks before hoisting myself out of my car or office chair. Sitting down is somewhat less excruciating but still no picnic. And I've learned that reaching for something--and especially bending over--can be quite painful. I had no idea just how much my tailbone was involved in such maneuvers but, believe me, I do now.

I'm really trying to not be frustrated by this injury but it's difficult. I'm used to being active--going to boot camp or running or just being able to get in and out of my car without having to psych myself up. I can certainly be prone to laziness, but it's different being lazy by choice than being forced to relax. I'm praying that I'll recover quickly and not get derailed on plans for upcoming races. I'm supposed to compete in a 10K a week from this Saturday, and then the half marathon is just a little over a month away. I'm trying not to stress out about whether I'll be able to run by next week and just take this recovery one day at a time.