Weird foot injuries that don't affect running

I seem to have tweaked my foot during last week's bowling session, which is a big "d'oh" in that it's not even like I got injured while running. It's not a noticeable pain unless I happen to bend my right foot sharply, in which case I feel discomfort in the top of the ankle joint where the foot meets the lower leg.

The weird thing is that this hasn't affected my running at all, and in fact, since that bowling session, I've run 32 miles, including a really good tempo run (indeed, faster than tempo pace) and a hard set of 1/2 mile repetitions. Maybe I should get weird, minor injuries while bowling more frequently?

159!

I am not a good bowler, but the one day that I really needed a strike on a particular frame, I got it. It was the day that the chain bowling alley was offering a "lucky strike" pass good for free bowling from Labor Day through Halloween. All you had to do was wait to get one of the three colored pins in the hopper to show up in the front spot and then bowl a strike. That one frame with the colored pin in the right spot was one of only two strikes that I bowled in two games that day.

Well, armed with free games, I headed over to the bowling alley in my spare (ha ha) time a few times, bowling four games in a row in an effort to improve my technique and accuracy. I've had a longtime goal of bowling 150+, but my high was around 125-130, with an average just over 100.

Today being Halloween, and with my dad and brother visiting, and the kids having the day off from school, we headed out on the last day of my lucky strike card. I took one lane with four games, and the four of them took the lane next to me with two games each. My first game was lame, 87. Second one was not bad, 125. Third was okay, 111, though disappointing because I had 70 through the first five frames before falling apart.

The fourth game started off pretty badly, as you can see, with 19 through the first three frames (i.e., sub-100 pace). But wow, those last 7 frames! I've never had anything close to a streak like that. I think I've had two strikes in a row before, but not 7 strikes or spares in a row. That is a cool 140 points over 7 frames, which over 10 frames would be an unthinkable (for me) 200!

Over on the next lane, my family members were only about halfway through their second game, so I had time to bowl one or two more games, if I wanted to go back to the front desk, but I figured I'd had enough, and it was better to end on a PR than to sink back to my usual mediocrity.

STRIKE!

I'm a pretty mediocre bowler, and I have an unorthodox (i.e., bad) technique. I almost always score 100 or more, but 130 or so is my best.

Today was the last day of a summer deal at our local bowling alley, so we headed over after the family fantasy football draft. The bowling alley was having a special promotion where there were occasional colored pins that would show up. If you had the colored one in the first spot and you got a strike, you'd win free bowling through Halloween.

I was having a subpar first game when a red pin showed up in the first spot. Now, if it wasn't enough pressure that a skilled (or in my case, lucky) roll was needed right then, I had to wave over one of the employees to watch. Actually, there were two of them.

As I said, I have a weird way of bowling. I've never quite mastered the curve, so instead I throw it straight, and for some reason, with backspin.

But while I am inconsistent, I can also be lucky. It was a clear, no doubt about it STRIKE. I had only four strikes out of 19 frames*, but I happened to get one of them when it really made a difference.

* We timed out before I got to my last frame in game 2. We could've gone to get it added back, but it was getting close to dinner time and it was the day before school was starting for the kids, so I let it go. If I'd been on pace for a PR, I would've stayed, but it was another mediocre game.

The game itself was meh, as I finished with 105. Game 2 wasn't much better, as I had 100 through 9 frames before the time-out. I guess that's a 111 pace, though.

Anyway, now that I have free games for the next months, I should sneak out on Friday afternoons and get, like, 5 games for practice by myself....