Next Steps....

Well I have got myself in to a nice daily routine of going for at least a 1k fast walk - doesn't sounds like much but I am now going at quite a pace and usually doing more like 1.5 - 2k.... small steps lead to big strides and all that.

The interesting thing I have noticed is that whilst I was off sick and when I have been walking at home I have largely been either barefoot (literally shoeless around the house) or wearing my vivo barefoot shoes whilst out for a walk. Since returning to work I've not yet put on proper shoes but resorted to trainers [the reason for this was (a) initially I was a little wary of wearing heeled shows as didn't want to trip or stumble (not that I do that in them but didn't want to even risk it slightly)  and (b) well let's face it trainers tend to be more comfortable then work shoes...].... anyway... the one thing I really noticed was the different "feel" underfoot of wearing trainers as opposed to barefoot/ almost barefoot.... Now I know this sounds REALLY obvious... but you know one of the things you read about moving to barefoot running (not that I am thinking that necessarily), is the sensory feedback you get from your feet... and you read about how much we no longer get this given modern footwear.... well I have to say - having never really given the whole transition to barefoot a proper go in the past .... it really is stunning the difference of underfoot feedback.... I mean it isn't often we get the opportunity to be unshod for 3 weeks + is it...  ... so much so that when I was at work the other day going for my lunch time stride in my trainers I was going along thinking first that something was different about how my feet were feeling until I realised that actually the difference was they weren't "feeling" anything at all... I was really missing the feedback I am now used to of different feeling an uneven, lumpy bumpy surface underfoot.

Now whilst I really do have little intention of becoming the next runner to try to move to barefoot running I do not, now I have discovered, want to lose my extra sensory feet! Kind of getting attached to my Vivo's (and actually the KSwiss recovery shoes also, although to a lesser extent)...... It will be interesting if I remember this once I get back to full on swim, bike run excitement... !!!!

In other news of the recovery/ training front.... well I marked a date in my diary for 6 weeks post op to say "you can start thinking about training if you like"... mainly so I didn't bother thinking about it before (although clearly I have been ignoring this and thinking and longing for a point to come when I can at least swim and get on my bike - no actually initially I was longing for a point just to walk alot)... anwyay... that 6 week date is fast approaching and comes next week....

.... but don't worry I am NOT going to go nuts and somehow think I can just go for an hour run or a 2 hour bike ride... 15mins of weeding last weekend showed me that will not be a good idea or even possible.... anyway.... once I feel that running can be contemplated on the agenda I have decided to follow a couch potato to 5k training programme.... Given I was 2 weeks away from competing in a half ironman race 2 months ago this may sound like to "easy" but I figured that actually it will keep me in check and I don't want to do anything to my belly which will complicate anything..... it is better to be fully recovered and continue to progress forward then it is to hurry and risk a set back IMHO.

As Dory Fish says "just keep swimming, just keep swimming"..... soon Doris soon.....