What's the recipe for lemonade?

Remember how I said I fell while in Italy?  Here's a little more of the story.  We were hiking (on a path that had been closed early for the winter due to excessive rain) in the Cinque Terre.  We had decided to start with the most difficult part of the trail first and there was a lot of ups and downs, but the trail was in decent shape.  The next town was coming up quickly when we came across a portion of the path that had been washed out.  On one side, there was a rock wall.  On the other side was a somewhat unstable handrail and a drop.  Jessica gingerly made her way across, walking sideways and using the handrail.  Nilfuer went across similarly.  And then it was my turn.  The little voice in my head was saying sit down on your bottom and scoot across.  I did not listen to the voice.  I grabbed the rock wall with one hand and the handrail with the other.  One step, two steps, and SNAP!  The handrail gave way and I went with it.  Thank goodness for the tree that I was able to grab a hold of (or maybe it grabbed a hold of me?) and I stopped tumbling.  Jessica, Nilufer, and the two other hikers coming the other way were asking if I was okay and all I could say was "I'm just going to sit here for a minute."

I climbed back up to the trail and assessed the damage.  Lots of scrapes and my pants were caked with mud.  I could tell something was wrong with my knee, but I could walk on it.  The rest of the trip I was moving at a very different speed, but I tried not to let my knee slow me down too much.

Makes for a great story, doesn't it? :)  Remember that one time I fell off a cliff in Italy?      

When I got home, I visited my doctor.  Bruised was the diagnosis.  No running for the next month.  And when I asked about the half in February, my doctor said no.  Talk about a balloon deflating.  I had started to suspect this might be the case, but to hear it in no uncertain terms was a blow. 

The next day I had an appointment with my chiropractor.  (Side note: when did I become a person with a chiropractor?  But she really does keep my body tuned up!)  Surprisingly, she didn't nix the half marathon right away.  Instead, she recommended we wait until my next appointment and see how the knee is progressing with ice and rest. 

So that's where I'm at right now.  Waiting.  And icing.  Part of me wants to just let it go and catch the race in 2012.  But another part of me is not quite ready to give it up.  Why is this such a big deal to me?  I really don't know.  It is just a race.  There are many other races - NYC Half (although that one is probably out too), Seattle Rock n' Roll, Disneyland Half, etc.  But it is a race I signed up for, and had (barely) started training for so I think it is the commitment factor.  I had committed to this race (even though this is out of my control).  My knee will heal.  There will be many other races.  It is not a bad injury, it could have been much worse.  I mean, Mandi fractured her knee cap. 

Okay, I'm just about done with my pity party.  And then it'll be time to make some stinking lemonade with this lemon.