Barefoot Running?

No, I’m not racing out to the park without shoes, although I run around barefoot in the apartment all the time. But recently, the New York Times ran an article on barefoot running, “The Once and Future Way to Run, ” which included a video of two exercises to help you run barefoot. (For the video, you click on the picture at the top of the article.) They immediately clicked for me. For one thing, they were a lot like the exercises I thought up for myself after I finished PT. Then, later in the article, the author references a barefoot running system called the Pose Method. So I looked up that on YouTube.  I really liked the exercises, and I have started doing some of them to help strengthen my mid-foot.

Mind you, I am already running barefoot on the mat, and I don’t intend to start barefoot running in Central Park. And I’m not suggesting everyone with a Lisfranc injury start doing them! My physical therapist had lots of tortuous exercises for me to do. But I am interested in getting my foot stronger than it was before the injury, so for me, they seemed just perfect.

I’ll see if I keep doing them, and if they seem to have a good effect.

A Lovely Day in the Park

Actually, it’s been a few nice days. First, I made my latest goal…jogging 9 minutes, walking 1 for an hour. I was painfully slow, but I had some extra at the end for a little sprint, so that was good. I have to keep reminding myself that the reason I started running was so that I could run for a bus, not so I could run a marathon (or a 5K). But now, running for the bus isn’t something I even think about. It’s just normal.

Then, yesterday I went to do my bike ride around the park. It was a beautiful day…there are actually some fall colors, and the elms were a lovely golden yellow. How often do you get to see a whole stand of elms these days? Sadly, there were a lot of crews out taking down trees that were damaged in the snowstorm. Not the elms, though.

Taking Down a Tree

A few more pictures to come. It was interesting to watch how the men were so comfortable walking around on tree limbs.

I actually got up the hill at the north end without stopping, and up the next one, too. So I didn’t stop to take pictures because I wanted to see how far I could go. Then I got to the marathon finish area and had to stop, because they were taking down the finish line. We had to detour. So then I took pictures.

What I hadn’t realized was how many people return to the scene of the crime the next day. The west drive was crowded with people walking back to the finish line, wearing their medals, to take the picture they couldn’t take the day before. Everyone was in a great mood, congratulating each other, so it was really fun to weave through them.

Then, as I approached the home stretch, who should I see but Zoe Koplowitz entering the park with her escort of Guardian Angels. Mind you, this is the day after the marathon! Zoe has multiple sclerosis but does the marathon every year, on crutches. This year, it took her 30 plus hours. I decided that I wanted to see her finish, so I rode around the north end (cutting off the big hill this time) to get the point where she would enter the park again, hung out with some Guardian Angels for a while, till she appeared, and we all walked up to the finish line, picking up people and photographers on the way. What guts, walking all night to do this. And I worry that I’m slow!

Zoe and Her Attendants

I got home late, but it was worth it!

Yes! I can run…really run!

Progress has been really slow, but today I added an extra 5/1 (run/walk) to my workout, and just to see, I decided to sprint for the last minute. Well, I lasted 30 seconds, walked for 15, and ran for the final 30 or so. The great thing was that there was absolutely no feeling that the left foot was different from the right! (A while back, when I posted a video of my feet running, I was aware of the difference.)

So I think I will add a final sprint to the workout, just because it feels so good to be really running!

Later:

That little sprint has become the best part! It’s a bit longer..still kinda pathetic, but it keeps getting better, and it just feels so good! It’s my little reward for keeping going.

Even Later:

Realized today that I am not pushing off quite as much with the left foot…the injured one. It seems to have a bit less strength and bend in the toes. So back to working on it..I think I have to do more standing on tiptoes, trying to balance there, and pushing against resistance. I hope it will work!

Even More Later:

Sept. 7th, actually. I just got back from my run/walk in the rain in the park. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I did 5 minutes, jogging, 1 minute walk eight times! Today some other runners were very encouraging, telling me, “you’re doing a great job” probably because there were so few of us out there! Two more weeks on this schedule, and then I get to amuse myself with another game!

Bye-Bye Bloggie, (at least for now)

By now, I think that any normal person would say I am rehabbed. I say I have a long way to go, but it has become increasingly hard to tell what was caused by the initial injury, the cast, and the enforced inactivity, and what is a reaction to the drug Asastrazole. So for the time being, I am letting the blog go, although I will put in the rare entry if something exciting happens, like doing a roll the way I did in the old days, or running a five-mile race!

If you are looking at this because you have a lisfranc injury, and want to leave a comment, please do! I will answer it. Goodness, knows, those of us who have this injury need to encourage each other.

Thank you to those who followed the blog and wrote me encouraging comments!

Just when you think it’s getting better…

Just when you think it’s getting better…yes, you blow it. Just a warning for other recovering maniacs…I’ve been enjoying myself working out at the gym, trying to get my leg strength back. For some reason, I still can’t get up from a roll with any elegance, so I have been working with the leg press machine…and I overdid it last week. When I bend the knee and put any weight on it (going down stairs, down the loft bed ladder, etc.), it feels as though there is a band going down the front of the knee, and it’s going to rip in two. Not a comfortable feeling. So for the past week I’ve iced it and used useless Chinese hit medicine, and taken off from dojo and gym. It seems to be getting better, but slowly.

So here’s the warning: take your time and go slowly, or you will end up backing up!

Running

I’ve started running on the treadmill. I worked up to it by “running” on the eliptical using the toes and ball of my foot instead of putting my foot flat on the pedal. It seems to have strengthened the foot.

Just an idea, if you are starting to run after a foot injury!

Back to the Gym

Back to the gym after a recess for the holidays…I didn’t lose as much as I had feared, but I still have a long way to go. I am up to leg pressing 40lbs. Pretty pathetic, but if I go heavier too quickly, I get groin pulls, which I don’t want. So it’s a very slow, and I hope, steady, improvement, going for more reps, rather than heavier weights, and being very aware of the stress I am putting on my ligaments.

Crutch Baggie

I remembered how difficult it was to carry a cup of tea while using crutches, so I made Paul a little bag to attach to his crutch, and gave him a nice sealed mug for his coffee. Well, fortunately, he used the crutches for about a two days and graduated to a cane, but I’ll put a picture here anyway! You can buy them online here, but it was easier for me to make one (especially since it was hardly used).

We also looked up crutch tips for rain and snow. We didn’t need them, but it is nice to know they exist!

Here’s a picture of my crutch baggie

The Ultimately Useless Crutch Bag

For someone who is stuck using crutches for a while, especially if they are non-weight-bearing, it might be a useful idea!

Just a little update

Today I had to run down to a store to get there before it closed…I would say about a half mile. Actually, I alternated running and walking, and didn’t get winded at all. The foot hurt a bit, but I could do it. I remember how helpless I felt when I got cut off insurance for PT before I could run. The company felt that human beings don’t have to run, even if they are taking care an elderly parent, etc. It’s taken a lot of work, but I can do it! Thank goodness, again, for the City gyms and the elliptical trainer. So, anyone else who has this injury, just keep plugging away!

My Beautiful New Pakstaf

I never did get a picture of my cane into the blog, but I had a lovely purple cane to help me around. Today, a new one arrived from our friend Bob, who makes them, and his design is even better now! The lovely thing about it as a cane (and a hiking stick) is that:

• it doesn’t make you feel impaired, because it’s so cute
• it’s a hiking stick once you don’t need a cane any more
• it breaks down into pieces when you don’t need it
• it has a compass, so you can tell where you are
• it even has a little vial that fits in the top for warming drinks! (I can’t do them any more, so I use it for pills.)
• it’s easy to find if you put it down in the woods, because of the bright color.

When you need it to be a cane, you leave off the top section and use the cane handle. When it’s a hiking stick you add the last section and take off the handle! Quite neat…and it fits in your backpack or bag.

Here's my Pakstaf broken down!

Here's my Pakstaf masquerading as a cane!