Yesterday's Agony

I had hoped to get out for a run yesterday to get things back on track. Because of my tooth pain on Friday, I had revisited my dentist, received some more work on the affected tooth, and actually had a decent night's sleep. I woke up somewhat refreshed, relieved that I didn't need to resort to vicodin. I sat down with my cup of coffee, took a huge swig, and spit it out in agony! Something that I had never even thought of was the effect the heat would have on everything else going on. I spent the rest of my day in absolute torture. The pain was sharp and constant. The only relief I had was to take a swig of ice water and hold it in my mouth. Late in the afternoon, I couldn't take it any longer. I was up to my eyes in water and was in absolute debilitating pain. Then my wife had a brainstorm, "What about an icepack?" I had not even thought about the obvious! I took an icepack, and in a couple of hours I was at least feeling less pain and could *finally* watch some TV. By the evening I felt comfortable enough that I was able to get a *good* night's sleep. Whew.

This morning I can feel the effects of the infection. My ears are somewhat plugged - just like an ear infection. My lower jaw is sore and I can't bite. My upper jaw and cheekbone is sore. But at least there is no fever. The new antibiotics seem to be taking effect. I was even able to enjoy my coffee this morning!

If this continues, I might try to run this afternoon. I'll attempt an easy four miles to see how my hip is doing. If there is a silver lining, this tooth has made me take two weeks off to let that heal. It means that I probably won't be at my peak for my race on January 1, but I'm hoping that I can still run it!