Ankle Curse

After I wrecked my ankle (second-degree, not enough for surgery, but good enough to debilitate), going to the gym became an iffy proposition. I was very good about it for awhile, doing strength training as a substitute for running. As I recovered, I began to tape up my ankle and go running lightly. Continuing pain in my ankle led me to reconsider this. Dr. Selby's Physician Assistant told me it would be six to eight weeks to a full recovery. But at my physical last week Dr. Selby himself said it would be more like six months, and I'd never have full strength back. Pee yoo!

I began shifting over to walking about three weeks ago, which has become a great boon to me, since Jean comes down to Mentor and walks with me for 45 to 50 minutes each day. During these walks we get to talk to each other in a depth of detail which just doesn't happen at home anymore. Kelly is a natural interruption machine. She'll sit watching cartoons silently for an hour, but within moments of Jean and I starting a conversation, she is butting in asking silly questions, sharing imaginary incidents, and otherwise breaking the flow of our conversation. We now tell her "Mommy's talking to me" or "Daddy's talking to me", but by then, we've already lost our concentration.

So the walks are beneficial in two ways. The first keeps my heart healthy, and the second keeps my relationship with Jean healthy. The downside is that I don't feel right going to the gym for a full workout when I'm already walking close to an hour a day. But I really need more vigorous exercise to shed some of the extra weight I've gained since wrecking my ankle. I was up to 218 pounds. I've managed to get down to 207, but I've stalled there for the last two or three weeks.

So I went to the gym today, and the plan is to work up to a regular two or three days a week, doing just strength training. I'll monitor my weight, and if this doesn't cause a dip, I'll start taking my bike down, and skip one or two days of walking with Jean to do more vigorous biking. Frankly I hope the weight training suffices, since I really enjoy the walks with Jean.