Listening to the doctor's advice...

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

My doc knows me pretty well and was explicit with his instructions for my returning to running. He wrote that if I could walk/live with minimal pain, then I was okay to try jogging, but not ‘super far’. He even gave me a pain scale, saying that if I was a 3 or lower on a 10 point scale, I could continue to run, but only on an every-other day basis. The ‘super far’ is open to interpretation as is the pain scale, but I know what he wants, though I tend to abuse good advice. This time though, I’ll do my best to get it right. Options are more limited for an exercise fix this time of year and I don’t want to eliminate the easiest and my favorite.

Today was not a ‘minimal pain’ day and so I had no allusions about running. I did however plan to do a longer walk in the park to see how it reacted. I arrived near dark, but pulled my camera out anyway and went on a 1-hour, off-trail loop with the hope of spotting some big buck and snapping a decent picture or two. As soon as I began walking up hill, the pain in the outside part of my foot returned and continued to throb throughout the hike. I suppose it was a little above minimal, though as I’ve often explained to Holly…what’s minimal to me would kill an normal person...and she loves it when I say that. Anyway…I could live with it so I kept going.

The leaves were too crunchy and broadcast my presence to any potential deer, so there were no picture opportunities. I did scare up one large, red-tailed hawk, which flew ahead of me maneuvering between trees in ways that amaze me considering their wing span and the density of the forest. I returned to the car after an hour thinking that my foot was getting better, but probably a couple of days away from trying to run. I’m going to be patient. I’m going to follow the good doctor’s advice. I’m mature and responsible now…

Hike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 70 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 420.