More About Shoes, Balance, and Ambition

It's been three weeks since my surgery, and my life is slowly returning to normal.  Last week I started wearing regular shoes again.  My Asics running shoes fit just fine and, as I predicted, they provide a good amount of support.  For taekwondo I wear a pair of Mooto martial arts shoes.  They fit well, and are a lot more substantial than any other martial arts shoes I've ever worn while still being very lightweight.  Unfortunately they still have the same drawback of all martial arts shoes: extra friction that makes it more difficult to pivot on the ball of my foot.  I will continue to wear them at least until my foot is 100% healed.  I'm still leaning toward going back to bare feet if possible.

Most of the fitness pros I know have asked me about my balance; so far balance has not been much of an issue.  I'm walking with a bit of a limp, but I am practicing "mindful walking" (focusing on taking slow, even steps so I'm not favoring one foot or another) after I've been awake for awhile and my body is warmed up.  Last week my lower back finally rebelled against my compromised gait by going into spasm, but it actually healed fairly quickly thanks to a re-integration routine prepared for me by the great trainers at ADAPT (specifically Andrea Iverson).  I haven't really pushed my athletic performance yet, aside from doing some TKD poomse (forms, or kata in Japanese).  I know I will have to practice hard to be able to pivot well on my right foot for left-legged techniques.  My foot still gets achy by the end of the day, but the ache is diminishing little by little.  I haven't taken any of the pain medication I was taking at bedtime for several days.

Before I really dig back into my TKD training I need to get stronger.  Three weeks of no cardio has really messed up my conditioning, and I've definitely gained a couple pounds from the forced inactivity.  This morning I got on an elliptical machine for about 15 minutes at a fairly brisk pace.  Sure felt good to get a little sweat going!  I'm not a big fan of machine-based cardio (why the hell would anyone run on a treadmill on an even halfway nice day?) but the elliptical is a good no-impact choice while I'm in rehab mode.  ADAPT Training also has some rowers and Versaclimbers; both would be good additions to my regimen.

Tomorrow morning I get the stitches out.  My plan is to get back to running as soon and as often as possible, but at a slow pace and with short distances until I get my sea legs back.  I'm also gonna start swimming a couple times a week, plus taking some swimming lessons.  I've never been a strong swimmer (I just learned how to swim about seven years or so ago), and one of the adventure races I want to do has several water-based obstacles, including a jump off a 15-foot platform.  My first official run will be a short jaunt on Leif Erickson Road this Saturday.  Of course I'll let you know how it goes.