Encounter With My Phobia

Today was my high quality workout, consisting of 1K repeats, 200M repeats and strides, amidst a warm-up and cool down. I nailed it. Frustrated and upset about more than a few things, I had plenty of energy to burn and could have gone a lot longer. That's the good news....

I got out of the shower, and caught sight of a large, round, red patch on the back of my left thigh. What on earth could it be? Ok, friends and fellow runners. Time for true confessions. I have two out-of-control phobias, bridges and ticks. This wasn't a bridge. When I say out-of-control, please know this is not an exaggeration. I was immediately dizzy, heart racing and a host of other problematic symptoms (read: psycho-somatic), not the least of which was being quite late to work already (Ok, that one wasn't in my head; I really was late).

A panic-stricken call to my husband gave me the sage advice of saturating a cotton ball in dish soap, and using a band-aid to tape it on the tick for 10 minutes. Low and behold, the tick should be on the cotton ball at the end of 10 minutes. Eleven minutes and more than a few extra heartbeats later, the tick hadn't budged. And then I did what I should not have done....

I took a pair of tweezers, got as close to the surface of my skin as possible, firmly grasped it and pulled. That thing was holding on! I tugged harder. STILL it wouldn't move. Alright, everything I have now... and, uh-oh, body off, head clearly in. Deep in, there is no digging it out by me without a razor blade. Which, at this point, I am almost crazed enough to do. Already, though, I am supposed to be somewhere, and I am getting pinged as to why I am not there. Short other ideas, I covered a band-aid with Neosporin, taped it over the little head, and got dressed to dash off to work.

Once at work, with a moment to take a breath, I did a quick search on the Internet. Specifically, on what to do if the head remains. And I read this cheerful little bit: "Ticks are remarkably well adapted for doing what they do best – latch on, hang on, suck blood. First they saw a tiny slit through the outer skin, using a pair of alternating saw blades called chelicerae, injecting an anesthetic as they go. The victim usually feels nothing. Next, the tick forces its multi-barbed hypostome deep into the skin and secretes a sophisticated organic glue, locking itself solidly into place. In terms of removal, the front part of a glued-in tick might just as well be part of your skin."

Fantastic. I have a doctor's appointment in 26 hours. I am now convinced, if your mind thinks you are sick, it will make you sick. If it thinks your leg hurts, your leg will ache. For something that I could not feel before I saw it, I cannot believe how this is physically affecting me. Can't wait to get this over with. Don't know how I will sleep tonight.