Dressed in my striped 1970s "Girls Can Do Anything Boys Can Do" shirt, I ran the 400-yard dash around the Steeple Chase elementary school playground, blissfully unaware that the whole world didn't agree with that slogan.

I'm climbing my way back to running, and the process is long and steep.

Today I am g-run-py. You got that right, g-run-py, not grumpy. Let me define. G-run-py is how a runner feels on a rest day, injured, or any other day where the world conspires to stop them from running.

The results are back, and the reality stings. The MRI report confirms what I suspected: a ligament rupture on the bottom of my foot (plantar aponeurosis) and torn ankle ligaments. Unfortunately, these issues are much more significant than I had hoped.

No matter how educated, wise or experienced, runners will sometimes ignore the higher-level processing part of the brain, the decision-making part, and end up making counterproductive choices with disastrous results.