Forward Again

I haven't posted anything in exactly two months.  Summer is over, and this is shaping up to be a nasty autumn weather-wise.  I haven't gone on my weekend big workout/moving meditation for three weeks due to a busy stretch at TKD.  Frankly, I have been a little discouraged lately.  My injured foot has been causing me a fair amount of pain; by the end of a work day it feels as if it is on fire.  I began to wonder if I was ever gonna hit bottom.  Well, it looks like I have.  Only two choices now: straight up or sideways.

The last two months haven't been a total waste.  I grudgingly embraced bicycling, and it turned out to be somewhat rewarding.  I rode the entire length of the Banks-Vernonia Trail, a beautiful reclaimed railroad track a half-hour west of my house.  Nice series of trips.  I still lost August, but got some good miles in September and early October before the weather went away.

There have been a couple major developments in my journey.  The big one is I have been moving toward a plant-based diet.  As of today I have all but given up cow milk, red meat, and poultry (I'm still eating fish and eggs, and cheese is gonna be a little tougher to give up).  I haven't lost any weight, but my energy level has improved, and I'm sleeping much more soundly.  A number of factors have influenced me to move away from animal-based foods, including my health, the environment, and ethical treatment of animals.  I don't begrudge other people their food choices or judge them; this is a personal and complicated decision I have made.  I never want to be like one of those self-righteous pain-in-the-ass PETA types, either.  If you invite me to dinner I'm eating what you're serving, with gratitude.  

The other development is I may have finally gotten the footwear situation straightened out.  I talked to the great people at Portland Running Company; they put me in some neutral support Brooks trail shoes.  They are super comfortable, and the little bit of slow jogging I have done has gone very well.  Last week I ran about 3/4 mile on Wednesday and the Misery Mile on Thursday with no ill effects.  That's the plan: to VERY gently ease back into a high frequency, low mileage running regimen.

I also found some viable footwear for TKD: ZEMgear Playa minimalist shoes.  They are basically neoprene socks with thin plastic soles.  The soles provide almost no traction or friction, so I can pivot on my feet to demonstrate various techniques.  Most importantly they don't kill my feet like the Mooto martial arts shoes I was wearing did.  I'veen wearing my ZEMgear shoes for three days now, and the pain in my injured foot is reduced by more than half!  What a relief, and what a signal to move forward.

This is Thanksgiving week.  I am thankful to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm looking forward to getting back to regular running in my beloved Forest Park.  I'm thinking about next year, and a couple of particularly nasty mud runs that have been calling my name.