It's autumn in HK - where it's still 70 degrees everyday. Not quite the brisk fall season I love and am accustomed to in NY; I sighed when I saw Central Park's dazzling foliage in the NYT Styles section this past wknd. But even in HK, fall means racing season is starting; my wish while in Asia is to enter road races in different locales - Vietnam, Cambodia..etc. But we will see. For my racing debut in Asia, I signed up a flat Unicef 10K race for around Disneyland HK this Sunday.
Except - my right toes are not cooperating. Namely my second toe, which is 1/4" taller than my big toe; in some countries this alignment heralds good fortunes and success, but in my case, it has been an achy nuisance.
After a long hilly practice run around Blacklink’s yesterday; I woke up this morning in hobbling pain. I could not put any weight on my right foot, and my second toe refused to wiggle. Attempted in vain to locate western doctors for my toe to visit as I am leaving for a biz trip starting tmrw; but alas, no luck. Feeling my plight, my local HK assistant* suggested I try her 'bone doctor' - and off she took me to a corner store in Sheung Wang.
The ‘Doctor’ was in a stained tshirt and rumpled khakis; an old karate master. He pointed at a rickety bench, and I sat and put my ailed foot on the little children’s stool. With an ointment that smelled vaguely of Tiger Balm- he massaged and twist-adjusted my toes this way and that way – and I could feel the sensation coming back. My toe, my darling toe! It was magical; as it wiggled in delight.
Finally, he ‘fish-netted’ a hot herbal compress* around my foot. The compress is to be kept overnight; it is very soothing, vascillating between warm and cold; I can feet my foot breathing in relief.
Before I left, the Doctor tapped me on my forehead:
“Young lady. No tomatoes, no mushrooms, and no scotch/whiskey for two weeks.”
OK, Doctor. I will try to abide, especially hard liquor – because I look like a hopeless lush. But I still want to run around Disneyland.
*the assistant culture is amazing; they’re so damn helpful – and really consider it a honor to help. I am always touched
* a.k.a. liniments, which is a gauze bandage filled with a cupful of a secret vat mixture combining alcohol and pulverized herb powders (mainly Chinese roots and camphor) that has been cooked all day.
