We have the technology...

the pendulum swings back and forth, usually within a ten pound range, previously between say, 170 and 180 pounds. And then it was between 175 and 185.

And now the upper limit appears to be 190. I'm turning into a fat, miserable bastard (a bit of hyperbole. But then again, I've been down this road before; so it's time to turn around and go back up again.)

It was nine months ago that I injured my ankle. A bad sprain, a minor fracture-- whatever it was, it never quite healed right. I stayed off of it for six months (as much as I could, considering my job is out on a sales floor, on my feet for eight hours a day.)

The fact that I wear boots as a matter of preference certainly helps. Plenty of ankle support. (you just need to find a hiking boot with a plain suede or leather upper, so that under the cuff of your khakis, they could be mistaken for dress shoes. Or not. “but how often do you look at another man's shoes?”) Hiking boots are fine (in fact, ideal) for retail, but not so good for running or jogging. A bit heavy, usually, and of course running is a different activity from walking/hiking. Boots pinch and rub in odd places when you try to run any distance in them.

I found a neoprene brace relatively easily (hell, they have 'em at Target) and while the one-size-fits-all adjustable brace doesn't seem like the best solution, it does work. I went running for a mile last weekend, to test the new brace. Some pain in the ankle-- yeah, well, nothing's perfect-- but that went away in just a day. The stiffness in my quads was more surprising, though of course I should have expected that too, considering I haven't done more than walk (and that at work) for the better part of a year. The stiff muscles took longer to rebound than the ankle did, in fact.

Still, the brace has some drawbacks. It was a very tight fit, and caused some numbness in my toes. There's no way I could have done more than a mile like that, and of course my goal is to hit seven or eight miles (this is gonna be a few years, mind) because I'd love to do the hash at close to a full-speed-clip for the length of the trail. (...and I could stand to lose 25 pounds. I need to lose 15 just to make up for the past 6 months)

So, I found a different solution.

I had to buy two pairs of running shoes. I'm wearing a size nine on my right foot, and a size nine-and-a-half, plus the brace on my left. (the extra mismatched pair I'll give to goodwill or some such; they're new shoes, hopefully someone can get some use out of them) The extra half size is all that it needed. This is going to get expensive, over the long haul, particularly if I end up running each day and need to swap out shoes every six months or so. To start off with, I found the running shoes on sale (also at Target) for just $20 a pair. $40 seems reasonable to spend on an experiment like this, particularly considering that my other option is to just sit on my fat ass and slowly inflate as my regular beer intake catches up with me.

The cheap-ass shoes are surprisingly good, at least with the Dr. Scholls orthotics in them. We'll have to see how well they hold up to cross-country trails, over time. I'll stick with the 3-mile loop down by the river [pdf map, here's the web site] for the next month, but I hope to transition to the “back woods” trails soon, and stretch my limits a bit.

The first trip out, this morning, ended up at only a mile and a half. --But I ran half. And I'm not limping (yet) and I didn't get the side stitch that tells me I'm overdoing it.

The next thing to do (assuming that I manage to stick with a four- or five-day-a-week running program) (“HA!”. --shut up, you. “No, really, I [snicker] believe you. Five days a week, sure... [*uncontrolable laughter fading off into the distance.*]”) ...somewhere down the road I should get a stop watch, and force myself to go faster. At least historically, I only manage a couple of miles and then walk/wheeze my way through the rest. More endurance would be good.

Maybe I should concentrate on just adding mileage, even if I am walking half of it-- eight miles is eight miles, right? (“HA! dude thinks he can hack it for eight miles”. --I said, shut up, you. Damn figments, running around like they own the place...)

If I work through the main problem (my bum ankle) then it shouldn't be so much of a stretch to work to improve the rest of my 3rd-rate physical condition as well. (or so he said at the start of the program... past performance doesn't exactly inspire confidence, but then again, I might just mean it this time...)