Trying to Sweat...

I had a pity party for myself all last week. It was a self-designated week of rest; I was hoping my foot would finally begin to feel better if I truly committed to resting it for 7-10 days. That's great in theory, but it also means a complete reduction in caloric intake to balance out the lack of activity.

Yeah... I didn't do that.

I ate&ate&ate&ate&ate.... feeling sorry for myself the entire time that I couldn't get out & work off the calories. And the more I thought about how badly I was doing, the more inclined I felt to have more pizza, gelato, & wine. Friends, it was a seriously bad week for me from an emotional eating standpoint.

When the weekend rolled around, I began pulling myself together. I managed to do some gardening & play with the dogs. I cleaned up a few rooms in the house. I did laundry. In other words, I finally peeled my butt off the couch. And every little bit of sweat on my brow felt wonderful.

Which leads me to yesterday (Tuesday). To start with, I made sure I prepped all my food, leading to a successful "clean-eating" day. No caving, no treats. Simple clean eating. I'd decided I felt well enough to give the foot a chance at a 1-mile run. Just one mile on the track to warm up before my usual weight session with my trainer. I even strapped on my new Garmin 910XT for the first time. I was really excited. And then this happened:

Holy crapballs. This is bad. And it's all down to my foot. My lungs were ready to go, my legs were ready to move, & my stupid left foot refused to cooperate. By the end of the single mile, I was devasted. I was in terrible pain. And limping again, actually. I made it through my weight session with my trainer, but I was horribly demoralized. I even choked up while I was lifting, though I managed to choke down the hysterics & kept on lifting. It was awful. I expected I'd set my healing back by weeks.

Then I woke up this morning.

Funny enough, it wasn't that bad. I got up, walked & fed the dogs, took my shower, then headed to the kitchen to make my own breakfast. And I realized something: I wasn't limping. I didn't feel great, per se, but I wasn't screaming in pain or anything like it. And that feeling has lasted throughout the day. I'm relieved that I didn't get what I deserved out of rushing my healing.

I am going to try cycling again; originally, it was too painful to put that much stress (via the pedal) on my foot. Just to keep active. And now, for the first time ever, I'm hitting the pool for a swim after work. This is a big deal; I hate swimming for exercise. But I figure it's a great excuse to use my Garmin 910XT while the healing continues. Hopefully, I'll get some answers from my doctor at my follow-up appointment on Friday. But in the meantime, I guess I'm a swimmer now...