Running - Bum Foot and Bad Weather

Good thing I'm waterproof!

The last six days has taught me a lesson in slowing down...

Last Friday my left foot started giving me some trouble. As the weekend continued it got worse, so at Sherry's recommendation I stopped my walking/running regimen for a bit - at least until it improved. It was a worrisome decision, cradled in an unrealistic fear that all the weight I've lost since August would suddenly reappear overnight. I can see now why some people overextend themselves with exercise; they're afraid of failing back to the beginning. After a while I thought to myself, "try to offset the 400 calories you're not burning by eating 400 less calories." It was a connection I had never made before; why I'll never know.

So for the next six days I worked on eating fewer calories, or at least having foods that were more filling like apples or oatmeal. Oddly it felt like I continued to trim down, even though the only exercise I have gotten the last few days has been walking from my parking spot to the office. My left knee - presumably stressed out by the final ten lunges I did two weeks ago - also feels way better than it did even one week ago. The lesson? "Slow down from time to time." I'm fine with that, so long as I don't slow down long enough to become lazy. Visions of my running shoes gathering dust by the front door, while I sit on the couch eating pork rinds and watching reruns of Family Ties. I don't want to be that guy. Ever. Again.

By last night my foot was almost back to normal. It was a day later than I hoped - Wednesdays are my "long distance day" because I have more time before work to exerciase - but a Thursday launch was better than the alternative (pork rinds and Family Ties). So plans were made: "Rain or Shine, I'm on the road tomorrow." Rain was the right word...

The Real Seattle - Don't let travel brochures fool you.

It was pouring out, the kind of rain that gets everywhere. The picture above really spells it out. The air is thick with water. Roads so wet that they shine as cars hiss by while kicking water up into a muddy mist. The unsyncopated tap tu tap tap tu tap of rain drops falling on whatever clothing I have on. The feeling of shoes soaked to squishiness. It all brought back memories of 1980, walking to school in my San Francisco Riding Gear wide leg jeans and having the hem line soak up every ounce of water on the trip. As expected, everything I wore this morning got soaked. Because of the rain it was not a morning to fiddle around with music during the walk, rather I put the music on "shuffle," stuck the player in my pocket, and left it to play all sorts of various tunes - French metal, Brazilian surf, Italian 70s experimental, American garage, and Spanish exotica. A wet worldly session today for sure. The walk was satisfying, and a welcome return to an activity that I've grown to love.

My foot and knee are back to 45-year old normal, thank you. No lunges for a bit longer; I want to make sure the knee is healing well. This has been the only major sideline I've had in three months, as I've worked towards reaching 200 pounds. Pretty good odds, dry or wet!

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Music Link: http://www.jamendo.com/en/user/BelRedRoad
Blog Link: http://www.clarkblog.net/search/label/Running