Lessons in Patience

Shortly after the injury I tried to resign myself to considering the recovery time as a lesson in patience and staying in the here and now. 

Truthfully it's not so much a lesson as a ''you-have-no-choice" state of being. I have always had the luxury of deciding I want to go and just going. In the past 8 weeks, however, many steps have had to be carefully planned. 

As I weaned myself out of the boot, I had to think about each outing with regard to needing the boot or not. Answer: I wore it in high traffic areas or in situations where I needed to move a lot or quickly. In situations where I shed the boot (mostly at home and around the office) I adopted a crossing the street mentality when leaving a room. At the doorway, I'd stop and look both ways before stepping out to avoid running into anyone and risk getting stepped on. 

I've had lots of time to think about how privileged I was (and will be again) to just move when and where I want to. 

On Monday (6-24), the doc removed all restrictions on the use off my foot. She warned me that it would be slow going to return to my previous distances. I'm supposed to build back slowly and let pain be my guide. I know she's right even if I don't want her to be. 

Today (Friday), I walked to and back from the dentist and then to and back from the library. Total for both walks 2.4 miles. My foot is achy and my ankle - inside and outside - is sore. 

However, the dentist did not find any cavities and I did find a book I wanted at the library so life is good. 

Tomorrow we are heading back to an unpaved surface for the first time in 8 weeks. I'm hoping that hiking poles and an ankle wrap will get me through to 3 miles. For now I'll put my foot up and check in to my books. I'm going to leave this post in draft mode until after tomorrow's outing. See you then. 

Hello again. 3.06 miles total out and back on the River Trail from Pawlings Road. 

I think the compression sleeve on the ankle helped serve as a reminder that's it's ok (and time) to put my weight on all of my foot. At the end my ankle was not nearly as sore as it had been after yesterday's walk. Some of the relief could have been the softer surface too. 

In other good news, while it was obvious at the end that 3 was enough, 30 minutes off the foot for the car ride home did bring a lot of relief. It's only mildly stiff and cranky right now. 

I do think I'll have to shorten this year's Freedom Walk. It's doubtful I'll be ready for 6 pavement miles in just 5 days. And that's ok. 

Keep Smiling and Keep Moving

-Paula