First Steps

Today, I covered a total of 1.5 miles alternating walking with running. It was hard to tell if everything was totally better, but I ran really slow so as not to do any damage. Yesterday, I did 2.5 miles, mostly walking. I'm "listening" for pain, and not hearing it. On Saturday, I'll do three. Between now and then, it'll be more of the same - walk/run/walk/run.

No gain, more pain

The past two days have been a frustrating return to the pain level of a month ago. Maybe this is a good thing as it prompted me to do some web-surfing on rehab from stress fractures. Most of what I found proscribed a very gradual build-up. I probably would have rushed it. Right now, I'm making deals with myself. I don't think God answers these types of prayers. Until something changes, I'm retiring the blog. Talk to you when I'm on the trail.

Progress

I woke up yesterday, the first day of 2009, with no pain. I had trouble putting my right sock on and had to sit down. But I'm used to this. At this point, it may just be stiffness. The gym was crowded on New Year's Day, but the pool wasn't, so I paddled around and generally worked on motion. All good news. This morning, I felt even better and actually managed to get both socks on while balancing on alternate legs. Another big plus is that when I sneeze, my lower abs don't hurt - It's been a while since I could last claim that. I expect to be sneezing much more in the coming weeks. If I don't have any more setbacks, I'll run next Saturday. The trick will be to start easy and build strength over several months. I'm in terrible shape. But I'm encouraged.