Stars, Moon, and Bare Feet

Yesterday I was tired all day. It was hard to get through the day because I was so tired. Shortly after dinner I sat down to read and fell asleep. When I got up this morning I had planned to go for a run, but still feeling tired, I scaled that back to a walk around the neighborhood. And if I was going to walk, I could try it barefoot. Or at least barefoot part of the way. I took my Xero Shoes along because the road is very rough and I figured I'd want to switch.

Outside the sky was clear. The air was cool, not cold, actually a perfect temperature. A crescent moon hung in the sky surrounded by stars. I don't know all of the constellations, but I recognized Orion. The neighborhood was mostly dark, but there are some streetlights (I took the picture above under one of the lights). A lot of the houses have porch lights on, some more than one. After walking a while barefoot I could tell the ball of my foot was getting irritated. Either my form, the rough road, or a combination, threatening to raise a blister. I stopped and put on the Xero Shoes at that point and continued.

It was pretty peaceful until a car came down the road toward me when I was almost back home. They slowed, nearly stopped, then drove past, turned into a driveway and turned around to drive past again before turning on the street where I was going to turn. I think they were lost because they did turn into a house on that street and park. Otherwise, no cars, no dogs chasing me.

I still feel like I could use some rest, but it was good to get out and walk. I need to do more barefoot walking, I haven't been barefoot outside nearly enough this year!

Daily Challenge 5: Trail Running

Off today, so I waited until I had already spent some time writing and painting before I went outside for my run. I've been reading Eat & Run: My Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek (checked out the e-book from my local library). I've been enjoying it so far. Something he said caught my eye. It wasn't anything I haven't heard before, but maybe with enough repetition it'll sink in. He talked about running slow. Walking as needed. Not worrying about time and distance. All good points. The key for me is that I need to put in the time out on my feet. Not run down the street and back, huffing and puffing, gasping for air and call it good after fifteen minutes! So today I set out to do a loop up around through town. I figured even if I walked much of it (which I did), it'd take less than an hour. Mostly because my time to exercise is usually limited. I might have an hour set aside.

It worked out pretty much as I expected. I got too hot, I ran as I could. I left the paved trail for a dirt trail that more or less went the same way, and that was fun. I'd really like to get out more on trails, but to get to most of them I'd have to drive somewhere first. That's usually not an option.

In anycase, it was a nice run/walk. I'm slowly building up my strength and endurance!

Daily Challenge 29: Dinner Break

I didn't actually track the time on this one, so I'm using the times from when I walked it the other day. Today I headed down the street on my dinner break. Long day today, arrived at work before 8:00 AM, and ended up leaving after 9:00 PM. It was nice getting out for a short walk. I particularly like the way the lights reflect on the street, and the contrast between the cool skies and the warmer colors of the street. More and more I'm looking at things, asking myself how I would paint them.

For the walk itself, I'm still hurting from the surgery. I took it slow and didn't push too fast.

Daily Challenge 28: A Walk in the Dark

This morning I took a walk in the dark, with dog. It was 29°F outside. I wore my Vivobarefoot Breatho Trail shoes this morning. With the cold and not being able to see much (I didn't take a light), that seemed safest. Just meandered around our trails for a bit, taking my time in the dark and conditions. It was a good chance to get out in the early morning. When I heal enough, I expect to do more early morning walks/runs and rides.

Daily Challenge 27: Lunch Break

On my lunch break I took advantage of the sunny (cold) weather outside to take a walk down to the corner and back. I'm not fast, and even that far was a challenge. I didn't do the walk barefoot, but I was wearing my minimalist Vivobarefoot shoes. I have three different pairs from them. Expensive, and worth the price. They've held up for years.

Recovering from the surgery is clearly going to take time!

Daily Challenge 25: Healing

Much time has passed since I last posted a daily challenge. As I'd mentioned, I started having health issues. It started as a pain on my lower right abdomen. "Pain" is almost too strong of a word. Uncomfortable, sometimes becoming painful. Annoying, but something I could ignore. Most of the time.

When I went to a master class for writers a few years ago, we played a simulation of a writer's career called "The Game." In one part of the Game you rolled dice, and sheets were consulted to determine what happened. A "life roll," something that could impact your writing (often negatively).

This is my latest life roll.

At my day job they started a wellness program. Go in for a physical, get some blood work done, and we'd all get a deduction on our premiums and a credit against our deductibles. Since the problem wasn't going away, and I hadn't had a physical in a long time, I went ahead and made the appointment.

When I first showed up the doc was so enthusiastic to see me. "Someone who is basically healthy!"

I'd gone through the standard questions with the nurse before hand. Smoke? No. Drink? No. Never? Never. Any surgeries? No. None? None.

Then I went through it again with the doc. It really gives you a good idea of what they deal with every day when they're surprised to have someone healthy, that doesn't drink or smoke!

I'd mentioned my problem, the discomfort I was feeling, and when the doc did the hernia check I got the bad news. "You've got a hernia! I'm going to refer you for a surgical consult."

I had a vague notion of what she was talking about, that's it. I did notice that after she had pressed on my abdomen that the 'discomfort' I'd been feeling had become more painful. I expected it to ebb. Instead, after the appointment, it worsened. Now it was painful. Was it just in my head, because now I knew what it was? I don't know. Maybe I'd ignored how bad it'd gotten.

I ended up back at the doctor's a few days later, seeing one of the other doctors in the group, because the pain had become quite distracting. This doc did a careful exam, ran a few other tests and confirmed the hernia diagnosis. He also showed me where it bulged when I coughed.

Nothing to do except wait for the surgery consultation a week later. That went as expected. Yep, hernia. Yep, it needed to be repaired. Another week and I went under the knife.

I'd expected pain post-op. They all told me. Without having ever undergone anything like this, I imagined I could still write and make progress on my novel while I recovered.

Right!

After the initial drugs wore off, moving became very difficult. Even getting into or out of bed became an excruciating chore. The narcotics made me all fuzzy-headed, but oddly not really sleepy. Restless, in constant pain, there was no way I was kicking off National Novel Writing month!

Talk about a life roll! Health issues, having surgery, has an impact!

With the support of my family, I gradually improved and began to better. Moving became easier. I started taking notes on the book I wanted to write. I finished an online writing workshop. I still couldn't move easily. Sitting for any length of time, walking, doing much of anything was hard.

Was hard? Is hard!

It's gotten better. I went back to work this week. Tough, very tough, to make it through a whole day at work. It's good. It gets me up doing things instead of staying in bed.

Today I decided to go for a walk around our property. It isn't far, we do have a tiny hill. And I went barefoot. I want to build back up my strength and get moving. I want to improve what I'm eating. I'm still in pain and I have to take it very easy. No pushing. I still have lifting restrictions for the next few weeks. I'm not getting better over night.

I am, however, getting better. I'm writing the book now. I'm back at work. And now I'm getting out for a walk. Running and cycling will come in time. For now it is enough to take a short walk around the place.